Tuesday, April 25, 2023 in the Kirby Ballroom.
University of Minnesota System Awards
Horace T. Morse-University of Minnesota Alumni Association Awards for Outstanding Contributions to Undergraduate Education
This honor is awarded to exceptional candidates who exemplify the University’s commitment to excellence in undergraduate education.
- Ryan Bergstrom, Geography, CAHSS
Ryan D. Bergstrom, Ph.D. is an associate professor of geography. Ryan has been at UMD since 2014, and received his Ph.D. in geography from Kansas State University, and an M.S. in earth science from Montana State University. His goal as a scholar is to better understand the sustainability of resource-dependent communities, where traditional resource extraction industries have given way to amenity migration, tourism, and recreation. In doing so, he hopes to identify conditions that promote (or hinder) a sustainability transition, and ultimately promote meaningful and effective local decision making. Bergstrom is the principal investigator of a three-year National Science Foundation Research Coordination Network grant that will bring together interdisciplinary scholars, practitioners, and decision makers to understand how communities across the Great Lakes Basin are responding to climate-driven disturbances. Ryan teaches across three of four domains within his department, including sustainability, physical geography, and geographic information science, and is also the coordinator of the department’s internship program.
- Burke Scarbrough, English, Linguistics, and Writing Studies, CAHSS
Burke Scarbrough is an associate professor of English education and serves as English program coordinator and the program contact for the Teaching Communication Arts and Literature major. He teaches courses in pedagogy, literature, and writing. He holds a BA in English from Duke University, an MA in English Education from Columbia University’s Teachers College, and a Ph.D. in curriculum and teaching from the University of Rochester. His research focuses on secondary literacy pedagogy that has the potential to expand traditional notions of what “counts” as English. He is president-elect of the Minnesota Council of Teachers of English and editor of the Minnesota English Journal.
- Shannon L. Stevenson, Biology, SCSE
Shannon Stevenson has been teaching and advising undergraduate students in the biology department since 2007. She received her BA degree in biology from Carleton College and her Ph.D. from the University of California Berkeley in molecular and cell biology. She is dedicated to teaching students from their first semester through senior year. Shannon is an innovative educator who empowers diverse students to take ownership of their learning and reach their full potential by using evidence-based teaching practices like active learning, problem solving and innovative labs. Her curriculum development has helped transform the biology majors and writing instruction in the department.
John Tate Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Advising
This award serves to recognize and reward high-quality academic advising and the contribution it makes in helping students formulate and achieve intellectual, career, and personal goals.
- Rebecca Teasley, Civil Engineering, SCSE
Rebecca Teasley is an associate professor with a focus on water resources engineering. She is lauded for her extensive academic and career advising, for creating impactful relationships with students, and for centering the experiences of underrepresented students. Her nominator writes “One visit to [Rebecca’s] office and many students go from anxious and full of anxiety to knowing someone who cares is helping them… [She] spends countless hours talking to students about career options and connecting them with the right people… Teasley has also placed an emphasis on increasing diversity in the STEM fields. She is a champion, ally, and advocate for our females and students from underrepresented groups.
Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Award
This award honors faculty who have done significant research, teaching or service/leadership to advance justice, equity, diversity and inclusion at the University, in the person’s field of study, or in our broader community. These awards are meant to advance and elevate equity work; provide funding in recognition of the value of that work; and showcase critical scholarship, pedagogy, and community engagement.
- Ruby Nancy, Marketing, LSBE
Ruby Nancy is an assistant professor in the Labovitz School of Business and Economics, where she teaches courses in business communication and career development, chairs LSBE’s Teaching and Learning Committee, and recently won the Spring 2022 Dean’s Cup Challenge for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion curriculum enrichment. She also chairs the campus-wide Commission QT: Representing the LGBTQIA2S+ Communities at UMD and serves on the board of directors of the Clayton Jackson McGhie Memorial in Duluth. She earned her 2020 Ph.D. in Rhetoric, Writing, and Professional Communication at East Carolina University, and holds graduate degrees in executive leadership development (Drake University) and writing studies (Western Illinois University). Nancy is a contributor to Constructing the Threshold: A Reference Work of Concepts between Teaching for Transfer and Teaching Writing (currently under contract with University Press of Colorado) and has a chapter in the Routledge Handbook of Queer Rhetoric (2022). Her research interests vary widely, but most recently have focused on bringing Black feminism and queer feminist rhetorical practices into the field of business.
- Jeanine Weekes Schroer, Philosophy, CAHSS
Schroer is a philosopher of race and feminist theory, an associate professor of philosophy at UMD, and currently head of the Department of Geography & Philosophy. Her teaching and research concern the ethics and politics of social oppression and its remedies, including: the metaphysics of race and racism; feminist ethics and social theory; and empirical and experimental philosophical approaches to racism, sexism, and ethics. Dr. Schroer received her Ph.D. from the University of Illinois Chicago.
Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching
This award recognizes faculty who have made contributions to the teaching mission of UMD that are of extraordinary quality and reflect UMD’s emphasis on high quality undergraduate and graduate education. This award honors faculty for innovative pedagogy, development of creative and critical thinking, student mentoring, commitment to liberal education, and leadership and impact within a department.
- 10+ Years of Service: Burke Scarbrough, English, Linguistics, & Writing Studies, CAHSS (Also a Morse award winner, see bio above.
- <10 Years of Service: Brock Hedegaard, Civil Engineering, SCSE
Brock D. Hedegaard is an associate professor in the Department of Civil Engineering. He received his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. His research focuses broadly on how concrete structures move over wide time scales, whether dynamically during an impact or earthquake or over the course of decades due to sustained loads. His teaching mirrors these interests, and he has offered courses in structural dynamics and concrete design. He bolsters his classroom teaching with a YouTube channel, “Structures with Prof. H,” where he records and publishes supplementary lectures, demonstrations, example problems, and other educational content related to his classes. These videos are general enough to also benefit an international audience of civil engineering students and practitioners.
Chancellor’s Distinguished Research/Creative Activity Award
Faculty members who receive this award are honored for their excellence in research or creative activity, scholarly or artistic contributions to individual disciplines, and dedication to student research.
- 10+ Years of Service: Liz Minor, Chemistry and Biochemistry, SCSE
Liz Minor is a professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and at UMD’s Large Lakes Observatory. She received her B.S. in Chemistry from The College of William and Mary in Virginia and her Ph.D. in Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Joint Program in Oceanography and Ocean Engineering. Her research group studies carbon cycling in lake, river, and ocean water columns across seasonal to decadal scales. This includes work on lake acidification and alkalinity trends and studies of organic matter in aquatic systems, including that new anthropogenic organic matter, plastics. Support for her work has come from the U.S. National Science Foundation, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, the State of Minnesota Environmental and Natural Resources Trust Fund, Minnesota Sea Grant, the ACS Petroleum Research Fund, and the U.S. National Park System.
- <10 Years of Service: Manik Barman, Civil Engineering, SCSE
Barman received his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh. Barman teaches infrastructure materials and pavement engineering-related courses at UMD. He conducts research on pavement materials, maintenance, and rehabilitation. His research projects deal with: (i) application of structural fibers in concrete pavements and overlays, (ii) structural fibers in performance engineered concrete mixtures (iii) pavement crack and pot-hole repairs, (iii) low-volume road asphalt mixtures, and (v) high-density asphalt mixture, etc. His ethnically diverse research group comprises of post-doc, research scholars (R3), graduate students, and undergraduate students. Barman’s research projects are funded by the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT), National Road Research Alliance (NRRA), Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR), St. Louis County of Minnesota, and others.
Chancellor’s Award for Outstanding Public Service
This award honors faculty who have demonstrated extraordinary and sustained commitment to public service and community engagement. This award recognizes faculty who have demonstrated an integration of civic and community engagement in their teaching; shown leadership in advancing students’ civic learning; conducted community-based research; fostered community partnerships; promoted the scholarship of engagement among his/her colleagues; or made contributions to positive change on issues of public concern.
- Alison Aune, Art + Design, CAHSS
Alison Aune is a professor and area chair of art education in the Department of Art + Design. She holds a B.F.A. in painting and art education (University of Massachusetts Amherst), an MA in painting (University of Minnesota Duluth), and a Ph.D. in Comparative Arts (Ohio University Athens). Aune’s paintings have been exhibited in over 90 solo and group exhibitions in the United States and in Nordic-Baltic countries. She has received numerous awards including the George Morrison Artist award from the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council, American Scandinavian Foundation Folk Art fellowship, Art Educators of Minnesota Higher Educator of the Year award, a Minnesota Artist Initiative grant, a Fulbright Scholar award, and a Jerome Foundation International Artist Travel Grant. Aune has published chapters, articles, and instructional resources on artists, art education, and museum-based learning and she regularly presents lectures and art workshops to all ages regionally, nationally, and internationally.
- David Woodward, History, Political Science, & Int’l Studies, CAHSS
Woodward has spent the past 30 years working in the fields of public history, historic preservation, museology, and archaeology in both the public and private realms. He completed his graduate studies in Folklore and Folklife (MA) and in Archaeology (MS) from the University of Minnesota. He has conducted research abroad in Ireland, Poland, Guatemala, Mexico and domestically in the Midwest. Woodward also holds an appointment in African and African American Studies. He currently serves as the director of the Museum Studies Certificate Program. His research interests include: Legacies of Colonialism in the Atlantic world, Native American and European contact period in the U.S., Cultural Landscapes of Western Ireland, Material Culture studies, and cultural/historical interpretation.
Outstanding Undergraduate Faculty Advisor Award
The Outstanding Faculty Advisor Award is given each year to faculty members who have demonstrated outstanding service to their undergraduate students.
- Jacob Wainman, Chemistry & Biochemistry, SCSE
Outstanding Graduate Faculty Advisor Award
The Outstanding Faculty Advisor Award is given each year to faculty members who have demonstrated outstanding service to their graduate students.
- Lynn Brice, Education, CEHSP
Outstanding Staff Award Recipients
Robin Macgregor, Facilities Management
RaeAnn Johnson, Department of Art and Design
Greg Mielke, Chemistry and Biochemistry
Alicia Heil, Biology
Outstanding Team Award Recipient
Tweed Museum of Art
Melissa King
Daniel Radven
Celebrating Staff Years of Service
25 years of service
Praveen Aggarwal
Tim Biles
Jane Carlson
Laura Carlson
Dee Charles
Lynn Gilberg
Mohammed Hasan
Darrin Johnson
Nena Johnson
Linda Johnson-Gange
Njoki Kamau
Igor Kolomitsyn
Oksana Kolomitsyna
John Kratz
Richard Ricketts
Lori Roberts
Justin Rubin
Karen Skrbich
Tongxin Zhu
Celebrating 30 years of service
Alison Aune
Richard Davis
Cynthia Hagley
Chris Haidos
Jerry Henneck
Rachel Inselman
Linda Klint
Lori Lucia
Jane Reed
Rajiv Vaidyanathan
Celebrating 35 years of service
Timothy Bates
Sherry Dunaisky
Jill Jenson
Lucinda Johnson
Tami Lawlor
Howard Mooers
Paul Sharp
Susana Pelayo-Woodward
Celebrating 40 years of service
Mark Harvey
Greg Sather
Celebrating 45 years of service
David Beaulieu
Celebrating 50 years of service
Joseph Gallian