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CSU Names Top Educators and Students of the Year - Columbus State University Skip to Main Content

CSU Names Top Educators and Students of the Year

March 17, 2004

Columbus State University has named Shawn Cruzen as its 2003-04 Educator of the Year.

Cruzen, associate professor of astronomy and director CSU's Mead Observatory in the Coca-Cola Space Science Center, earned the same honor in 1998-99. He was cited March 16 with other top faculty and students during CSU's annual Scholastic Honors Convocation.

Other top faculty awards went to business professors Johnny Ho for faculty research and scholarship and Thomas Loughman for faculty service. Communication major Katharine Cannella earned the Faculty Cup - the highest student honor. Computer science major Linh Uyen Tran earned both the Academic Recognition Award and the Phi Kappa Phi Senior Award.

When Cruzen won the award the first time he was developing an astronomy program in the College of Science, anchored by the observatory at the space science center. Five years later, astronomy under Cruzen is thriving as one of CSU's most popular elective programs. About one of every eight undergraduates fulfills his or her science core requirements through the program.

Additionally, Cruzen has developed several of the courses he teaches, including 'Descriptive Astronomy;' 'The Physics of Color and Sound;' and the 'Physics, Chemistry, and Geology of the Solar System.'

Cruzen, who joined CSU in 1997 from the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, also has collaborated with faculty colleagues in establishing NASA-sponsored research scholarships for students. In addition to maintaining an active research program for CSU, he continues to perform educational outreach for the community through Mead Observatory programming.

Thomas Loughman, professor of business administration and assistant dean for special projects, is credited with effectively writing and editing large portions of documentation for the D. Abbott Turner College of Business' accredidation effort. He has served on 26 college or university committees in recent years and has written and edited several promotional publications for the university and business college including the college's recently reinstituted 'Exchange' newsletter.

Johnny Ho, professor of management, has maintained a vigorous research publication pace since joining CSU in 1994. He has established himself as a noted expert of business management with a collective 20 journal publications, 32 proceedings publications and 42 presentations of papers at academic conferences. Ho's teaching performance is reflected in student feedback indicating his dedication to assist students both in and out of the classroom.

Katharine Cannella carries a 3.97 GPA as a member of multiple honor societies and as president of the CSU Student Government Association.

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