KU Kudos: Jayhawk faculty and staff achievements, June 2024
LAWRENCE — It's time to celebrate Jayhawk colleagues' achievements: KU News Service staff accepted submissions and combed websites, social media and newsletters for recent external honors and awards for current faculty and staff at the Lawrence, Edwards and Medical Center campuses and affiliates.
KU Kudos is published 6-7 times a year. Have something to share? Submit by Aug. 1 for the next edition. Self-nominations are encouraged, with more information available here.
June 2024
Melinda Adams, assistant professor of geography & atmospheric science, was selected as an author for the first-ever National Nature Assessment by the U.S. Global Change Research Program.
Alyssa Appelman, associate professor of journalism & mass communications, has been elected to the publications committee of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.
Beth Bailey’s book “An Army Afire” received a Society for Military History Distinguished Book Award. Bailey is a Foundation Distinguished Professor in the Department of History.
Yi-Yang Chen, assistant professor of piano, has been named a Steinway Artist by the instrument-maker. Chen also was selected by the Kansas Arts Commission to join the Kansas Touring Artist Roster under classical music.
Amanda Emerson, assistant professor of nursing, was named to the 2024 cohort of the Betty Irene Moore Fellowship for Nurse Leaders and Innovators at University of California-Davis Health.
Chuck Epp, University Distinguished Professor in the School of Public Affairs & Administration, has been named as the co-recipient of the Stan Wheeler Mentorship Award by the Law & Society Association. He was commended for working with first-generation and other nontraditional students.
Babalola Faseru, professor of population health, received a national distinction award from the Society for Research on Nicotine & Tobacco for his outstanding work and contributions in the field.
Darcy Gray, digital communications coordinator for KU Medical Center-Wichita, was named a Young Professional in Marketing by the Wichita Business Journal.
Stephen Jackson, assistant professor in the Department of Educational Leadership & Policy Studies, received a 2024 Society of Professors of Education Outstanding Book Award for “The Patchwork of World History in Texas High Schools.”
Sheyda Jahanbani, associate professor of history, was awarded the Organization of American Historians Intellectual History Award for her book “The Poverty of the World.”
Vincent Key, associate professor of orthopedic surgery/sports medicine, was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame. He is in his 14th season as the medical director and head team physician for the Kansas City Royals.
Belkasim Khameiss, postdoctoral scholar with the Kansas Geological Survey, is the 2024 recipient of the Buzas Award for Travel to the Cushman Collection. The award supports researchers of foraminifera to visit the collection at the U.S. Natural History Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Benyi Li, professor of urology, received the Dedicated Service Award from the Serican Academy of Urology.
Ward Lyles, assistant professor in the Urban Planning Program, spoke at a session titled “Building Empathy and Compassion in Planning Practice” in April at the American Planning Association’s National Planning Conference in Minneapolis
David Roediger, Foundation Distinguished Professor of American Studies and History, received the Lifetime Achievement Award for Distinguished Contribution to Ethnic Studies from the Society for the Study of Multiethnic Literature in the United States. Roediger received the award in 2023 but was presented it at the 2024 conference in Dallas due to scheduling conflicts.
Erik Scott, associate professor of history, received honorable mention for this year's Theodore Saloutos Book Award from the Immigration and Ethnic History Society for “Defectors: How the Illicit Flight of Soviet Citizens Built the Borders of the Cold War World.” Scott is also the director of KU’s Center for Russian, Eastern European & Eurasian Studies.
Prateek Sharma, professor of medicine and program director for GI training in the School of Medicine, has been elected president of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy for 2024-2025. His term began in May.
Jennifer Thuener, assistant professor of family & community medicine, was recognized by the Wichita Business Journal as a 40 Under 40 honorees. Thuener also served on the Medical Society of Sedgwick County’s board of directors.
Recently in the news
Three KU faculty members — Kristin Bowman-James, Donna Ginther and Bala Subramaniam — have been elected as 2023 American Association for the Advancement of Science fellows, a distinct honor within the scientific community.
Rafe Brown, professor of ecology & evolutionary biology, has received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award to travel to the Philippines to study biodiversity and teach at partner universities.
Patricia Weems Gaston, Lacy C. Haynes Professor of Journalism, served as a juror for the 2024 Pulitzer Prize. Gaston was part of the International Reporting Jury that met at Columbia University in late February.
Jennifer Raff, KU associate professor of anthropology, was recently awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship for her work on the history of human populations through sequencing the genomes of contemporary peoples and their ancestors.
Colin Roust, associate professor of musicology and author of "Georges Auric: A Life in Music and Politics,” opened a screening for an eight-film Auric retrospective at the Ciné Lumière, operated by the Institut Français.
Amy Van de Riet and Keith Van de Riet, associate professors in the School of Architecture & Design, were among the team members for the Dyche Hall Grotesque Renewal Project, which received a Medallion Award from the Kansas Preservation Alliance at the 2024 Kansas State Preservation Conference.