Annual faculty, staff awards honor dedication to teaching, research, service

May 4, 2023

At its annual Faculty and Staff Recognition & Excellence Awards ceremony on Wednesday, May 3, Columbus State honored university employees for their commitment to teaching, scholarly research and service to the institution, its students and the community.

More than a dozen faculty and staff were honored with specific awards, including:

Faculty Awards

The Faculty Service Award, presented to Dr. Rania Hodhod, the Edwin & Florette Rothschild Chair and an associate professor in the TSYS School of Computer Science. This award recognizes faculty members who have contributed outstanding professional service to the university and/or the community during the current academic year.

The Faculty Research and Scholarship Award, presented to Dr. Kerri Taylor, an associate professor in the Department of Chemistry. This award spotlights outstanding faculty efforts in research and scholarship by celebrating the value of these activities—particularly for their role in contributing to the faculty’s intellectual growth.

The Teaching Excellence Award, presented to Dr. Brent Cotten, a professor in the Department of Accounting & Finance. It recognizes commitment by a faculty member to activities that advance the quality and practice of teaching and learning, that use teaching strategies to enhance learning, and that demonstrate a strong commitment to fostering student academic success through interactions outside the classroom.

The Creative Endeavors Award, presented to Natalia Temesgen, an associate professor in the Department of English. The award recognizes outstanding faculty efforts in creative expression germane to their field and how those efforts contribute to student and faculty intellectual and creative growth.

The Teaching Innovation Award, presented to Amy “Becca” Jones, a lecturer in the Department of Marketing & Management. It honors the efforts of faculty members who develop and practice innovative methodologies in pedagogy and showcases the creative innovations that facilitate enhanced learning.

The Excellence in Online Teaching Award, presented to Dr. Marguerite Lawrence, an assistant professor in the School of Nursing. This award recognizes a faculty member who is strongly committed to quality online teaching and who demonstrates an extraordinary dedication to fostering the academic success of online students by developing rapport with individual learners in and beyond the virtual classroom.

The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Award, presented to Dr. Kalynn Pistorio, an assistant professor of special education in the Department of Teacher Education, Leadership & Counseling. It recognizes a graduate faculty member’s positive impact on teaching techniques and pedagogies on student learning, as well as the congruence of departmental or program goals and philosophy with the graduate faculty member’s goals and strategies for making a positive difference in the academic success of graduate students.

Staff Awards

The President’s Staff Excellence Award, presented to Ria Stringfellow, the Dean’s Office coordinator in the College of the Arts. This award honors a staff member’s consistently superior performance in their position and within the university in a way that advances and promotes one or more of the CSU’s six core values: excellence, engagement, creativity, servant leadership, inclusion and sustainability.

The Staff Collaboration Award, co-presented to Ashley Schley and William Keen, immediate past and outgoing chairs, respectively, of the Staff Council, who together co-chaired CSU’s Strategic Alignment Staff Task Force. This award recognizes an individual staff member or group of staff members who have collaborated with either an internal or external group in a way that advances and promotes one or more of the university’s six core values.

The Staff Commitment to Service Award, presented to Patty Chappel, an academic support assistant in the Department of History & Geography. It honors a staff member who has provided consistent superior service within the university and who has gone above and beyond during the current academic year in a way that advances and promotes the university’s core value of servant leadership.

The Staff Award for Engagement, presented to Annie Carey, an academic support assistant in the Department of English. It honors a staff member who becomes or is already engaged within the university during the academic year in a way that advances and promotes the university’s core value of engagement.

The Staff Innovation Award, co-presented to Dana Larkin and Oula Weaver, who through their roles as assistant dean of students in Student Affairs and a counseling professional in the Counseling Center, respectively, have raised greater awareness of mental health concerns on campus. This award is awarded to the staff member or group of staff members who innovation during the academic year has advanced and promoted one or more of the university’s six core values.

The awards ceremony also recognized employees achieving their five-year milestones ranging from five to 45 years of service to Columbus State, as well as the 23 faculty and staff who have recently retired or will do so by the start of the next academic year in August.

The ceremony also spotlighted the employees who have completed various phases of L.I.V.E. CSU, the university’s internal leadership program for faculty and staff facilitated by the Leadership Institute. Through it, employees learn, invest, value and engage (L.I.V.E.) with their colleagues through various professional development modules.

For more information about the awards and honorees, download the ceremony program. A list of past honorees is available on the Academic Affairs website.

Media contact:
Michael Tullier, APR, Executive Director of Strategic Communication + Marketing, 706.507.8729, mtullier@columbusstate.edu