2020 convocation award winners announced

(STILLWATER, Oklahoma, March 31, 2021) — Oklahoma State University recently honored faculty and staff members as well as administrators for their achievements in 2020.

Dr. Ramesh Sharda, vice dean for graduate programs and research in the Spears School of Business, received the Eminent Faculty Award, which recognizes the highest level of scholarly achievement at OSU. Sharda, who is also a Regents Professor in management science and information systems, has published more than 200 journal articles and book chapters and been awarded over $4.5 million in research funding. An expert in data sciences, Sharda is a two-time winner of the Regents Distinguished Research Award; in 2016, he was inducted into Oklahoma Higher Education Hall of Fame.

Academic advisor Tom Joyce and administrators Chris Barlow and Dr. Amy Brown were honored with University Service Awards. Joyce, who advises students in the aviation and space programs in the College of Education and Human Sciences, has worked with the Office of Veteran Affairs to connect veterans with resources. In the fall, Joyce worked as a COVID Care Team member and reached out to students in quarantine to make sure their academic needs were being met. 

“This is one of the real pleasures of being president, especially over the last year because there hasn’t been a lot of them,” OSU President Burns Hargis said. “Tom has done a wonderful job throughout all this craziness, and the award is greatly deserved.”

Barlow, senior director of University Counseling and Health Services in the Division of Student Affairs, was a key voice in navigating OSU’s response to the coronavirus. As head of the Pandemic Response Team, Barlow worked closely with the Payne County Health Department, State Health Department and OSU’s Center for Health Sciences to develop testing protocols and plans that provided COVID tests to the OSU community. 

“I would call these two the dynamic duo of the pandemic,” Hargis said. “Chris Barlow and Amy Brown have just done an incredible job from the very beginning of this thing. Chris got the testing done after Amy worked things out and got the lab set up. They helped navigate our way through these very choppy waters.”

Brown, chief operations officer for the Oklahoma Pandemic Center of Innovation and Excellence, was at the forefront of looking to contain the outbreak of COVID-19. She began testing specimens on March 20 and helped set up OSU’s acclaimed diagnostic lab. Brown, formerly the director of research operations, saw her hard work rewarded when OSU’s lab processed more than 50 percent of COVID tests in the state last year, moving Oklahoma from bottom five nationally into the top 20 in testing numbers.

Although normally announced during a special ceremony at convocation, because of COVID-19, the awards were announced virtually this year.

Full list of honorees

Phoenix Award for Graduate Faculty

·Pamela Lovern, Associate Professor of Physiological Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine

Regents Distinguished Research Award

·Haobo Jiang, Professor of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Ferguson College of Agriculture

·Igor Karača, Professor of Music, College of Arts and Sciences 

·Yingmei Liu, Associate Professor of Physics, College of Arts and Sciences

·Bryan Edwards, Associate Professor of Management, Spears School of Business 

·Ronald Cox, Associate Professor of Human Development and Family Science, College of Education and Human Sciences

·James Stine, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology

·Susan Little, Regents Professor of Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine

Regents Distinguished Teaching Award 

·Ranjith Ramanathan, Associate Professor of Animal and Food Sciences, Ferguson College of Agriculture

·Eve Ringsmuth, Associate Professor of Political Science, College of Arts and Sciences

·Noha Youssef, Associate Professor of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, College of Arts and Sciences

·Alexis Smith Washington, Associate Professor of Management, Spears School of Business

·Matthew Brosi, Associate Professor of Human Development and Family Science, College of Education and Human Sciences

·Heather Yates, Professor of Engineering Technology, College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology

·Jill Akkerman, Associate Professor of Physiology, College of Veterinary MedicineXX

Career Champion Award

·Sarah Johnson, Instructor of Professional Practice of Accounting, Spears School of Business

Dr. Patricia A. Bell Inclusive Excellence Faculty Award

·LaRicka Wingate, Professor of Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences

Women’s Faculty Council Outstanding Achievement and Mentorship of Women Awards 

·Rising Star: Emily Graham, Associate Professor of History, College of Arts and Sciences

·Outstanding Achievement: Tonya Hammer, Associate Professor of Community Health Sciences, Counseling and Counseling Psychology, College of Education and Human Sciences

·Inspiring Excellence: LaRicka Wingate, Professor of Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences

Global Education Faculty Excellence Award

·Jay Dawes, Assistant Professor of Kinesiology, Applied Health and Recreation, College of Education and Human Sciences

Outreach Faculty Excellence Award

·Greg Clare, Associate Professor of Design, Housing and Merchandising, College of Education and Human Sciences 

Award for Excellence in Academic Program Assessment

·Scott Frazier, Associate Professor of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering, Ferguson College of Agriculture

·Kaladi Babu, Regents Professor of Physics, College of Arts and Sciences

·The Undergraduate Curriculum and Assessment Committee led by Carol Johnson, Associate Professor and Associate Dean, and Marlys Mason, Associate Professor and Associate Dean, Spears School of Business

·Susan Stansberry, Professor of Educational Foundations, Leadership and Aviation

·Penny Thompson, Associate Professor, Educational Foundations, Leadership and Aviation, College of Education and Human Sciences

·Chulho Yang, Professor, Engineering Technology, College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology

Excellence in Teaching Award for Adjunct Faculty

·Gerri Petty, Lecturer in Mathematics, College of Arts and Sciences

Merrick Foundation Teaching Award

·Per Bylund, Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship, Spears School of Business

Excellence in Advising Award

·Jon Ramsey, Associate Professor of Agricultural Education, Communications and Leadership, Ferguson College of Agriculture

·Megan Pitt, Senior Academic Advisor in Music, College of Arts and Sciences

·Matthew Cabeen, Assistant Professor of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, College of Arts and Sciences

·Coleman Hickman, Senior Academic Advisor, Spears School of Business

·Madison Hagen, Senior Academic Advisor, College of Education and Human Sciences

·Mary Francis, Academic Advisor, College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology

·Cara Eubanks, Senior Academic Advisor, School of Global Studies and Partnerships

·John Andrews, Academic Advisor, Honors College

·Camille Stockemer, Academic Advisor, University College Advising

Newly Appointed Regents Professors

·Gail Wilson, Natural Resource Ecology and Management, Ferguson College of Agriculture

·Richard Bunce, Chemistry, College of Arts and Sciences

·Joseph Missal, Music, College of Arts and Sciences

·Moh’d Bilbeisi, Architecture, College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology

·Kelvin Wang, Civil and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology

Distinguished Early Career Faculty Award

·Ranjith Ramanathan, Animal and Food Sciences, Ferguson College of Agriculture

·Thomas Carlson, History, College of Arts and Sciences

·Henry Segerman, Mathematics, College of Arts and Sciences

·Andy Luse, Management Science and Information Systems, Spears School of Business

·Tutaleni Asino, Educational Foundations, Leadership and Aviation, College of Education and Human Sciences

·Jindal Shah, Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology

·Akhilesh Ramachandran, Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine

·Matt Upson, Edmon Low Library

Leave the Ladder Down Award 

·Faculty: Natascha Riedinger, Associate Professor of Geology, College of Arts and Sciences

·Staff: Sandy Earls, Administrative Associate, Geology, College of Arts and Sciences

·Administrator: Ed Kirtley, Assistant Dean, Engineering Extension, College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology

University Service Award

·Staff: Tom Joyce, Academic Advisor in the College of Education and Human Sciences

·Administrator: Chris Barlow, Senior Director of University Counseling and Health Services, Division of Student Affairs

·Administrator: Amy Brown, Chief Operations Officer, Oklahoma Pandemic Center of Innovation and Excellence, and formerly Director of Research Operations, Division of Research

Eminent Faculty Award

·Ramesh Sharda, Vice Dean and Regents Professor, Management Science and Information Systems, Spears School of Business