2023-2024 Awards
The Office of Faculty and Academic Staff Development is proud to share the slate of 2023-2024 All-University Award Recipients. These internal awards are an integral part of recognizing the excellent work of MSU’s faculty, academic specialists, graduate students, and executive leaders.
The 2023-2024 award recipients were formally recognized at the annual All-University Awards Ceremony on Wednesday, May 1, 2024.
William J. Beal Outstanding Faculty Award
Awards are based on a comprehensive and sustained record of scholarly excellence in research and/or creative activities, instruction, and outreach.
- Erich Grotewold, College of Natural Science, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
- Mohammad H. Khalil, College of Arts & Letters, Religious Studies
- Shannon Manning, College of Natural Science, Microbiology and Molecular Genetics
- Deborah McCullough, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Entomology and Forestry
- Adam J. Moeser, College of Veterinary Medicine, Large Animal Clinical Sciences
- Kristen Renn, College of Education, Educational Administration
- Dana M. Spence, College of Engineering, Biomedical Engineering
- Yimin Xiao, College of Natural Science, Statistics and Probability
- J. Scott Yaruss, College of Communication Arts and Sciences, Communicative Sciences and Disorders
- Zhou Tian, College of Music, Composition
Teacher-Scholar Award
These awards are presented to faculty who have earned the respect of students and colleagues early in their careers for their devotion to and skill in teaching and whose instruction is linked to and informed by their research and creative activities.
- Jennifer Doherty, Lyman Briggs College
- Yvonne Lam,College of Music
- Kirtimaan Mohan, Lyman Briggs College
- Andrew J. Olive, College of Osteopathic Medicine, Microbiology, Genetics, and Immunology
- Linda Sayed, James Madison College
- Sitara Thobani, The Residential College in the Arts and Humanities
Distinguished Academic Staff Award
These awards are given to academic specialists and MSU Extension academic staff for extraordinary achievements, excellence, and exceptional contributions in advising, curriculum development, outreach, extension, research, and/or teaching.
- Debra Barrett, MSUE/College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Children and Youth Institute
- Dawn Contreras, MSUE/College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Health and Nutrition Institute
- Amy Pollock, College of Natural Science, Chemistry
- Valeta Wensloff, College of Communication Arts and Sciences, Media and Information
Excellence-in-Teaching Citations
These citations are awarded to graduate teaching assistants who have distinguished themselves by the care they have given and the skill they have shown in meeting their classroom responsibilities.
- Erica Holt, College of Social Science, History
- Tyler Mazone, College of Music
- Enrique Núñez-Mussa, College of Communication Arts and Sciences, Journalism
- Riley Pizza, College of Natural Science, Plant Biology
- Scott Shank, College of Communication Arts and Sciences, Communication
- Alyssa Voort (Uher), College of Education, Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology and Special Education
Community Engagement Scholarship Award
This award is given in recognition of mutually beneficial and sustained campus–community research partnerships.
- Courtney Carignan, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Food Science & Human Nutrition; College of Veterinary Medicine, Pharmacology and Toxicology
- Great Lakes PFAS Action Network, represented by: Sandy Wynn-Stelt
President's Distinguished Teaching Award
This award is given to faculty who have created innovative teaching environments that enable student learning within and
across disciplinary, cultural, and ethnic boundaries.
- Tammy Long, Plant Biology, College of Natural Science
Simmons Chivukula Award for Academic Leadership
The Simmons Chivukula Award is given for exemplary work in academic leadership at the rank of department chair, school director, assistant dean, or associate dean. An individual is selected based on consistent and demonstrated excellence in academic leadership, including the dimensions of equity, diversity, and inclusion.
- Jerry Kooiman, College of Human Medicine
Donald F. Koch Award for Quality in Undergraduate Teaching
In recognition of outstanding undergraduate teaching.
- Alexandra Zevalkink, College of Engineering, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science
Faculty Emeriti Association Award for “Outstanding Contributions by an Individual or Team of Faculty"
This award recognizes an individual MSU Faculty Emeritus or Emerita or a team of Emeriti faculty who following retirement have served the university community through contributions to a unit or program.
- Paul Cooke, College of Communication Arts and Sciences, Communicative Sciences and Disorders