Provost, dean to honor outstanding graduate students
LAWRENCE – More than 80 outstanding graduate students at the University of Kansas will be recognized at the annual Graduate Awards Ceremony, which will take place at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, April 23, in the Ballroom of the Kansas Union. Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Jeffrey S. Vitter and Dean of Graduate Studies Michael C. Roberts will present the awards.
“Graduate students are a major part of a university like KU,” Roberts said. “As active and excellent researchers, teachers and providers of service, we enthusiastically celebrate their contributions to KU, their disciplines and the local community.”
Awards from KU’s recent Graduate Research Competition will be presented to 14 graduate students, while eight graduate students who participated in the Capitol Graduate Research Summit will also be recognized.
The Chancellor’s Graduate Teaching Assistant Award will be presented to Amelia Rollings, music education and music therapy. “Everyone loves and respects Amelia,” one nominator said. “She does not seek or need the limelight but rather goes about her work with a quiet, steady effectiveness that ultimately speaks volumes about her love of teaching and her considerable teaching skills.” Another nominator noted that her teaching is so well-regarded among student that there is a waiting list for her courses.
Five graduate students will receive Carlin Graduate Teaching Assistant Awards: Jennifer Foster, Spanish & Portuguese; Jennifer Friess, history of art; Chelsea Graham, communication studies; Boryana Koseva, ecology and evolutionary biology; and Christina Williams, psychology. The Graduate Teaching Award will be presented to Matthew Smalley, English, and Derek Glasgow, political science.
The Distinguished Service Award will be presented to Teresa Pan, psychology, and Phillip Wagner, communication studies. Pan’s nominator said that “this award seems tailor-made for her” due to her multiple volunteer positions in public health. Wagner was noted for his profound “sense of civic engagement and social responsibility,” as found in his fundraising for the Emily Taylor Center for Women & Gender Equity and involvement in local anti-violence programs.
In addition, the 2014 Chancellor’s Doctoral Fellows, the 2014-18 cohort of Self Graduate Fellows, the 2014 University Graduate Fellows and the 2014 National Science Foundation Fellows will be recognized at the ceremony.
Representatives of academic programs throughout the university nominated graduate students for the teaching and service awards. Selection committees chose winners based on their departmental nominations and student evaluations.
Graduate Teaching Assistant, Service, and Research Competition awardees are listed below:
Mohammed Alenazi, doctoral student in electrical engineering & computer science from Rafha, Saudi Arabia, will be recognized with a Graduate Research Competition Award.
Mohammed Al-Naqshabandi, doctoral student in chemistry from Zakho, Iraq, will be recognized with a Graduate Research Competition Award.
Maggie Beneke, doctoral student in special education from Somerville, Massachusetts, will be recognized with a Graduate Research Competition Award.
Amanda Boyle, doctoral student in theatre from Lenexa, will be recognized with a Graduate Research Competition Award.
Emily Carlson, doctoral student in pharmacology and toxicology from Rochester, Minnesota, will be recognized with a Graduate Research Competition Award.
Kaila Colyott, doctoral student in ecology and evolutionary biology from Lawrence, will be recognized with a Graduate Research Competition Award.
Jennifer Foster, doctoral student in Spanish & Portuguese from Lawrence, will be recognized with a Carlin Graduate Teaching Assistant Award.
Jennifer Friess, doctoral student in history of art from Cuyahoga, Ohio, will be recognized with a Carlin Graduate Teaching Assistant Award.
Junfu Gao, doctoral student in curriculum & teaching from Lawrence, will be recognized with a Graduate Research Competition Award.
Derek Glasgow, doctoral student in political science from Winfield, will be recognized with a Graduate Teaching Assistant Award.
Dorothy Glick, doctoral student in musicology from Mount Holly, North Carolina, will be recognized with a Graduate Research Competition Award.
Chelsea Graham, doctoral student in communication studies from Covington, Kentucky, will be recognized with a Carlin Graduate Teaching Assistant Award.
Boryana Koseva, doctoral student in ecology and evolutionary biology from Athens, Greece, will be recognized with a Carlin Graduate Teaching Assistant Award.
Margaret Lloyd, doctoral student in social welfare from Kansas City, Kansas, will be recognized with a Graduate Research Competition Award.
Christy Miller, doctoral student in musicology from Lawrence, will be recognized with a Graduate Research Competition Award.
Nicolas Joseph Mucci, master’s student in chemical engineering from North Liberty, Iowa, will be recognized with a Graduate Research Competition Award.
Lisa Mullinger, doctoral student in musicology from Overland Park, will be recognized with a Graduate Research Competition Award.
Teresa Pan, doctoral student in psychology from Santa Clara, California, will be recognized with a Distinguished Service Award.
Amelia Rollings, doctoral student in music education and music therapy from Columbia, South Carolina, will be recognized with a Chancellor’s Graduate Teaching Assistant Award.
Elizabeth Sallinger, doctoral student in musicology from Pittsburgh, will be recognized with a Graduate Research Competition Award.
Matthew Smalley, doctoral student in English from Olathe, will be recognized with a Graduate Teaching Assistant Award.
Phillip Wagner, doctoral student in communication studies from Lawrence, will be recognized with a Distinguished Service Award.
Christina Williams, doctoral student in psychology from Wichita, will be recognized with a Carlin Graduate Teaching Assistant Award.
Xian Zhao, doctoral student in psychology from Shenyang, China, will be recognized with a Graduate Research Competition Award.