Faculty, staff honored during annual awards program

May 2, 2024

More than a dozen faculty and staff were honored with individual awards during Columbus State University’s 2024 Employee Recognition Awards Ceremony on April 30. The annual awards are organized around the university’s six core values of excellence, creativity, engagement, sustainability, inclusion and servant leadership.

Honorees included:

Dr. Joshua Brooks, Excellence in Online Teaching Award. Brooks is an associate professor of finance in the Turner College of Business & Technology’s Department of Accounting & Finance.

Sgt. Christopher Bryant, Staff Award for Sustainability. Bryant is a sergeant in the University Police Department.

Velina Carey, Staff Commitment to Service Award. Carey is the residence life coordinator in the Division of Student Affairs’ Residence Life Office.

Dr. Guihong Fan, Faculty Research & Scholarship Award. Fan is a professor and chair of the College of Letters & Sciences’ Department of Mathematics.

Sydney Frazier, Staff Engagement Award. Frazier is the academic support assistant in the College of the Arts’ Department of Communication.

Dr. Kimberly Gill, Faculty Service Award. Gill is an associate professor and chair of the College of Letters & Sciences’ School of Policy, Justice & Public Safety.

Dr. Rania Hodhod, Teaching Innovation Award. Hodhod is a professor and the Edwin & Florette Rothschild Chair of Computer Science in the TSYS School of Computer Science, based in the Turner College of Business & Technology.

Nicol Lewis, President’s Staff Excellence Award. Lewis is chief information security officer in the Office of Legal Affairs, Ethics & Compliance.

Takeia Mosala, Staff Innovation Award. Mosala is the contracts manager and policy coordinator in the Office of Legal Affairs, Ethics & Compliance.

Dr. Chandler Padgett, APRN, FNP-C, Scholarship of Teaching & Learning Award. Padgett is an assistant professor in the College of Education & Health Professions’ School of Nursing.

Dr. Yesem Peker, Chappel Graduate Award. Peker is the interim director of the Graduate School and a professor of computer science in the TSYS School of Computer Science, which is based in the Turner College of Business & Technology.

Dr. Kerri Taylor, Teaching Excellence Award. Taylor is an associate professor in the College of Letters & Sciences’ Department of Chemistry.

UITS Enterprise Software & Development Team, Staff Collaboration Award. The team comprises Wesley Barron, application developer; Anaiya Cook, programmer; and Keith Grier, enterprise applications manager—all of University Information & Technology Services.

The program also honored employees who reached milestone years of employment, completed LEAD CSU and other L.I.V.E. CSU professional development programs, or retired or will retire during the 2023-24 academic year.

Descriptions of the awards and past recipients are available on the university’s website. Event photos are available for download from the university’s Flickr account.

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