Faculty Awards Convocation
Faculty Awards Convocation is held each February to honor the outstanding contributions of our faculty. University awards are presented for excellence in teaching in and outside of the classroom, scholarship that advances the professions and helps society, inspiring mentoring to aid our students successfully along their way, and dedicated service to the campus and larger community.
The 2026 Faculty Awards Convocation will be held on Tuesday, February 10 at 4:00 p.m., at the Loosemore Auditorium, Pew Grand Rapids Campus.
2026 Recipients
University Awards for Excellence
Glenn A. Niemeyer Award
Theresa Bacon-Baguley, Ph.D.
Professor of Physician Assistant Studies
Theresa Bacon-Baguley is committed to student success, rigorous academic inquiry, and institutional advancement. She is a transformative educator whose teaching repertoire is as broad as it is deep, spanning from undergraduate nursing to graduate-level clinical science. Her classroom is widely recognized for academic rigor, clinical relevance, and inclusive engagement, making her one of the most impactful educators within the College of Health Professions. Bacon-Baguley’s record of scholarship reflects intellectual breadth, methodological rigor, and a commitment to translational impact. She has authored over 25 peer-reviewed publications and has been awarded more than $3.5 million in federally funded research grants. Bacon-Baguley is an exceptional mentor for students and faculty, who are passionate about educating the next generation of healthcare leaders.
Glenn A. Niemeyer Award
Shabbir Choudhuri, Ph.D.
Professor of Engineering
Shabbir Choudhuri has served on GVSU’s faculty since 2004 and has made lasting contributions in teaching, research, and service. Choudhuri is widely recognized for his project-based, student-centered teaching approach, which integrates real-world engineering challenges to build student confidence, collaboration, and applied problem-solving skills. He has played a central role in strengthening graduate education at GVSU, serving as the Graduate Program Director for Engineering from 2011 to 2021 and leading the program’s growth into a thriving, well-supported community of graduate students. He also founded the Padnos College of Engineering’s annual Project Day and helped establish the Design, Optimization, Evaluation and Redesign Center (DOER) to connect faculty, students, and industry partners. Choudhuri’s research focuses on operations improvement and engineering education, including National Science Foundation funded initiatives that promote student success, belonging, and retention. A dedicated mentor and collaborator, he continues to advance innovation and excellence across the college.
Glenn A. Niemeyer Award
David Leonard, Ph.D.
Professor of Chemistry
David Leonard’s career embodies the excellence recognized by the Glenn A. Niemeyer Award. Since joining GVSU in 1998, Leonard has advanced biochemistry education through innovative curriculum design, most notably transforming Chemistry 462- Biochemistry into a high-impact, course-based undergraduate research experience. A committed mentor, Leonard has supported more than 50 undergraduate researchers, many of whom have pursued graduate studies or careers in healthcare and biotechnology. His nationally recognized research on antibiotic-resistance enzymes has generated over 40 peer-reviewed publications, significant student co-authorship, and more than $1 million in competitive federal funding. Leonard’s service contributions range from strengthening departmental advising to supporting pre-professional pipeline programs, which demonstrate his dedication to student success. His teaching, scholarship, and service reflect a sustained commitment to excellence that has enriched students, colleagues, and the broader scientific community.
Distinguished Contribution in a Discipline Award
Katherine Moran, DNP
Associate Professor of Nursing
Katherine Moran is an exceptional researcher and transformative
leader whose continuing contributions to the scholarship of nursing practice embodies Grand Valley’s mission to empower learners and enrich society. As an award-winning expert on doctoral nursing education, Moran has published over 50 refereed articles and book chapters as well as a foundational textbook used in 192 Doctor of Nursing Practice programs nationwide. Since joining Grand Valley in 2018, Moran’s trailblazing academic practice partnerships have resulted in over $7.6 million in federal grants to support graduate education for nurses in rural and underserved communities.
Outstanding University Service Award
Karyn Rabourn, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Educational Leadership and Counseling
Karyn Rabourn has sustained a profound record of dedicated institutional service at GVSU. Her embodiment of the spirit of collaborative leadership, equity and engagement can be seen in her long list of service, which includes positions with the University Academic Senate, the Executive Committee of the Senate, Chair of the Title IX External Investigation Task Force, Chair of the Equity in Personnel Process Task Force, Chair of the College of Education Faculty Development Committee, Co-Chair of the Vice President for Student Affairs Search Committee, and Co-Chair of the College of Education and Community Innovation’s Faculty Council. In all of these roles, her wisdom, dedication, expertise, grace and collegiality have strengthened the university’s mission and culture.
Outstanding Community Service Award
Kathleen Bailey, Ed.D.
Professor of Criminology, Criminal Justice, and Legal Studies
Kathleen Bailey’s dedicated work for more than 40 years has transformed both individual lives and entire systems, making a profound impact on the juvenile justice system, the broader community, GVSU, and her students. Her work is her passion, reforming the criminal justice system’s treatment of its most vulnerable population, juveniles. Bailey’s exceptional achievements include creating the state’s only Juvenile Justice Minor, founding the PALS mentoring program, co-founding Juvenile Justice Vision 20/20, and being appointed by former Michigan Governor Rick Snyder to serve on the Michigan Committee on Juvenile Justice. Bailey’s actions of service are not singular, but are boundless, and her impact to GVSU and West Michigan is profound and long-lasting.
Haas-Stiner Undergraduate Mentoring Award
Matthew Cooper, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Biology
Matthew Cooper exhibits exceptional dedication to mentoring student scholarship and fostering meaningful academic growth. He views his role as a mentor, equivalent to a wilderness guide: assisting students on the adventure while staying safe and successfully completing the goal. As a component of his research lab, which focuses on social cohesion, each student signs an “expectations agreement,” which outlines both his expectations of the student and the student’s expectations for him as a mentor. His guidance elevates the quality of research and writing, nurtures confidence, and assists with any setbacks. His mentorship not only improves individual research skills, but also enriches the broader learning environment for all students.
Outstanding Academic Advising & Student Services Award
Jennifer DeWaard, Ed.D.
Assistant Professor of Teaching and Learning
Jennifer DeWaard’s kindness, integrity, and dedication are at the heart of her ability to provide exceptional advocacy and care for her students. Learners recognize DeWaard’s ability to connect on a human level, share her own experiences, and make students feel seen, and they appreciate DeWaard’s continued contribution to their learning, as she guides them to a successful future as inclusive educators. Along with her exceptional advising skills, DeWaard is known for her expertise in academic policies and procedures, as her implementation of a new program structure is greatly recognized by her colleagues.
Internationalization Award
Janel Pettes Guikema, Ph.D.
Professor of Modern Languages and Literatures
Janel Pettes Guikema is a model of global engagement whose 23-year career at GVSU has profoundly shaped internationalization across the university. She has guided GVSU’s France faculty-led program seven times, redesigning the curriculum each year to ensure deeply immersive, interculturally rich learning. Her programs have transformed students’ linguistic confidence, global awareness, and academic pathways. As department chair of Modern Languages and Literatures, Guikema championed multilingualism, co-created the Michigan Seal of Biliteracy pathway, and helped develop the Multilingualism and Intercultural Fluency badges. Her work with virtual exchanges and the Global Civil Discourse Map has connected students with journalists worldwide, cultivating critical global perspectives.
Pew Awards for Excellence
Burch, Jacobs, and Moore Diversity Teaching Excellence Award
Jay Knight, DNP
Assistant Professor of Nursing
Jay Knight’s work embodies a consistent commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in all aspects of their teaching. Knight creates learning environments where students feel seen, valued, and challenged, including intentionally assigning course materials that represent diverse voices and using “exit tickets” so students can safely ask uncomfortable questions. Knight’s leadership in university initiatives such as the Gender Expansive Inclusion and Equity Associate in the Division of Inclusion and Equity, demonstrates a commitment to building equitable systems.
Burch, Jacobs, and Moore Diversity Teaching Excellence Award
Megan Woller-Skar, Ph.D.
Professor of Biology
Megan Woller-Skar’s teaching demonstrates a clear commitment to diversity and inclusion. Of particular note are two courses Woller-Skar developed and taught. In Biology 380- Racism and the Conservation Movement, students begin to question “who writes the stories, who benefits from the stories, and who is missing from the stories.” The other class is Biology 280- Anishinaabek Gaganoondiwag-dibaa (Conversations about Judgements and Measurements), which centers indigenous ways of knowing and doing science. Woller-Skar inspires curiosity and encourages students from all cultures to see a place for themselves in Biology and in contributing to our collective understanding of the world around us.
Pew Teaching Excellence Award for Adjunct Faculty
Brandie Schmidt, BSN, RN
Adjunct Faculty of Nursing
Brandie Schmidt develops meaningful relationships with her students while also keeping current in her field. Schmidt makes a positive impact on current and future students by bridging the gap between theory and practice, and creating a welcoming environment for all students. She understands the importance of critical thinking in nurse practitioners and helps her students develop their own critical thinking skills whether they are working with a patient or reflecting in a post-conference debrief. Schmidt views diversity as an asset and intentionally adapts her teaching methods to meet students where they are.
Pew Teaching with Technology Award
Imran Mazid, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Communications
Imran Mazid has shown exceptional skills in teaching with technology by going beyond simply showing students how to use technological tools like AI and social media analytics, to teach students how to think critically and ethically. Through innovations like the AI Toolkit and the Social Media and Analytics Badge, he has made learning engaging, practical, and relevant to real-world professional settings. Beyond his own classroom, Mazid has led efforts to share his methods and resources with colleagues, proposed new courses, and helped shape a culture of collaboration around technology use at GVSU.
Pew Teaching Excellence Award
Amanda Buday, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Sociology
Amanda Buday demonstrates teaching excellence through her innovative, project-based teaching, as well as her mentorship of students. Among her many accomplishments, Buday created an open-access textbook tailored to the needs of her students in Sociology 105, co-founded the Social Science Lab, and developed a Citizen Social Science project for non-degree seeking adult learners. Moreover, Buday actively engages students in research and professional development by co-authoring peer-reviewed articles, presenting alongside her students at conferences, and securing grants for students to serve as research assistants—experiences that foster confidence, curiosity, and a lifelong love of learning.
Pew Teaching Excellence Award
Brian Deyo, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of English
Brian Deyo demonstrates teaching excellence through a dynamic and interdisciplinary approach that engages students in both critical thinking and creative practice. By integrating traditional writing instruction with digital storytelling, podcasts, and video essays, Deyo stimulates intellectual curiosity while connecting classroom learning to pressing social and environmental issues. Drawing on their extensive teaching experience and current scholarship in environmental humanities, they continuously refine their courses to maximize student learning and engagement. Through these efforts, Deyo embodies a reflective, student-centered approach that inspires both academic excellence and meaningful contributions to society.
Pew Teaching Excellence Award
Shirley Fleischmann, Ph.D.
Professor of Engineering
One of the longest-serving faculty members in the Padnos College of Engineering, Shirley Fleischmann demonstrates teaching excellence through innovative project-based learning and a unique focus on contextualizing students’ engineering knowledge. One of these projects, the Wooden Shoe Regatta has been highly regarded by students and colleagues for 35 years. Fleischmann’s innovative approaches, tireless dedication to student learning, and her unwavering commitment to the success of both students and colleagues has left an indelible mark on the Padnos College of Engineering and on GVSU as a whole.
Pew Teaching Excellence Award
Nicole Harpold, DNP
Assistant Professor of Nursing
Nicole Harpold embodies a strong commitment to teaching excellence by fostering intellectual curiosity, building strong foundations, and preparing thoughtful clinicians. In integrating patient stories and relevant experiences from her palliative care practice, she helps students connect complex concepts to patient care, encouraging students to see their education in a more comprehensive way, and emphasizing the humanity of the care they provide. Her reflective and creative teaching approach inspires and challenges her students, shaping future healthcare professionals by modeling the compassion that is required by the nursing discipline.
Pew Teaching Excellence Award
Dawn Rutecki, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies
Dawn Rutecki is a scholar-teacher who leads with humility and transparency, meeting students where they are and challenging them to be change agents in the world. Rutecki’s pedagogical creativity includes using Reacting to the Past simulations and challenging students to engage with difficult texts and difficult ideas. Colleagues use terms like “transformative” and “life changing” to describe her pedagogical impact.
Pew Teaching Excellence Award
Lindsay Stoetzel, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Literacy, Educational Foundations, and Technology
Lindsay Stoetzel demonstrates outstanding teaching excellence through a deeply reflective, research-informed, and student-centered approach. By redesigning Education Reading 320 into a community-based, inquiry-driven course, Stoetzel provides pre-service educators with authentic, hands-on literacy experiences in partnership with local schools, fostering both professional growth and self-efficacy. Through ongoing self-study, peer feedback, and student co-creation of assignments, Stoetzel continually refines her instructional practices, ensuring that students not only understand concepts but can apply them effectively. Ultimately, she exemplifies a commitment to stimulating intellectual curiosity, supporting student learning, and advancing the field of literacy education.
Pew Teaching Excellence Award
Scott Thorgaard, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Chemistry
For Scott Thorgaard, collaboration is a core element of his teaching strategy, much like the process of science itself. Thorgaard fosters student engagement at the introductory level in small student-led discussion groups and makes the content of upper-level theory courses more accessible through the development of mini-lab activities. In upper-level Chemistry 475, his development of a mini-lab on cyclic voltammetry is especially notable, providing students with hands-on experience with electrochemistry, beyond simple theoretical presentation. Students collaborate with Thorgaard during lecture time as well, completing skeletal note packets along with him, as his copy is displayed on the screen.
Pew Excellence Award for Teaching and Learning Enrichment
Kellie Riley, DNP
Assistant Professor of Nursing
Kellie Riley’s teaching holds common themes of collaboration, sustainability, cross discipline and department engagement, and responsiveness to student, faculty, and university goals. Central to Riley’s teaching innovations are collaborative relationships to generate student learning guides, leveraging technology, and creating interactive experiences for students and faculty to enhance well-being centered on her commitment to access and equity. She has demonstrated her teaching excellence by creating distinctive pedagogy tools for undergraduate simulation preparation, collaborating with the College of Computing and the Interprofessional Simulation Center to create a student-accessible electronic health record simulator, and designing alternative grading schemas.
CSCE Awards for Scholarly and Creative Excellence
Distinguished Graduate Mentoring Award
Tricia Thomas, Ph.D.
Professor of Nursing
Tricia Thomas is an innovative scholar and educator whose dedication to mentoring continues to inspire and elevate the next generation of nurse leaders. Her guidance emphasizes critical thinking, problem-solving, self-reflection, and the development of professional confidence. Thomas has championed her students’ scholarly growth by including former mentees as contributors in four textbooks. Her contributions have been instrumental in promoting the clinical nurse leader role, guiding curriculum development, and supporting successful national board certification efforts. The impact of her mentorship is evident in the accomplishments of her mentees, who have made meaningful contributions across the nursing profession.
Distinguished Undergraduate Mentoring Award
Andrew Lantz, Ph.D.
Professor of Chemistry
Andrew Lantz is an exemplary scholar and educator whose dedication to undergraduate mentorship exemplifies GVSU’s mission to empower learners and enrich society. Since joining GVSU in 2007, Lantz has mentored more than 30 undergraduate researchers, guiding them through high-impact projects that emphasize both scientific rigor and personal growth. His approach of guided independence has helped build student confidence through emphasizing ownership of their research. Under his mentorship, students have co-authored publications, presented at conferences, and successfully transitioned to the next chapters in their lives beyond GVSU.
Distinguished Undergraduate Mentoring Award
Krista Benson, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies
Krista Benson is an innovative scholar and educator whose dedication to undergraduate mentorship exemplifies GVSU’s commitment to inclusive excellence and transformative undergraduate education. Since joining in 2019, Benson has mentored students across Honors projects, McNair Scholars, Institutional Review Board-approved research, and interdisciplinary capstones, using a “kitchen-table” approach that invites students to see themselves as knowledge producers. Benson’s mentorship style is centered on accessibility, compassion, and intellectual rigor, with special attention for first-generation, LGBTQ+, and neurodivergent students. Under Benson’s guidance, students have co-authored book chapters, presented nationally, and pursued advanced graduate study.
Distinguished Early-Career Scholar Award
Sara Sutton, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Computing
Sara Sutton is a creative and energetic scholar in cybersecurity research and education, whose innovation and rigorous scholarly work demonstrates her leadership in an emerging and rapidly-evolving world. Since joining GVSU in 2022, Sutton has published three peer-reviewed articles in prestigious journals and secured significant research funding from the Michigan Space Grant Consortium as well as the National Science Foundation/National Security Agency’s Gencyber program. She actively involves undergraduate and graduate students in her work, and is a leading mentor in the Women in Cybersecurity program.
Distinguished Early-Career Scholar Award
Ian Winkelstern, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Geology
Ian Winkelstern has built a student-centered research program advancing innovative approaches to carbonate geochemistry and the study of Earth processes, which has elevated GVSU’s profile and positioned himself for growing national and international recognition in the geosciences. Since 2023, he has published seven peer-reviewed articles and delivered over a dozen conference presentations, many with student co-authors, demonstrating strong scholarly impact and meaningful undergraduate engagement. Winkelstern has also established regional collaborations with research institutions and secured major external support, including a National Science Foundation Major Research Instrumentation award that established GVSU’s new water isotope laboratory.
MASU Professor of the Year
Adrienne Wallace, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Communications
Adrienne Wallace received the 2025 Michigan Distinguished Professor of the Year Award from the Michigan Association of State Universities. As the advertising and public relations major coordinator and advisor of numerous student organizations, Wallace’s mentorship has helped students achieve success academically, professionally, and personally. Her commitment to experiential learning is evident through endeavors like CreateAthon, an annual event for the student-powered public relations firm GrandPR , which Wallace advises, to work on campaigns for nonprofits. Wallace’s teaching has earned her several prestigious awards, including the GVSU Student Life Jo Ann Litton Outstanding Advisor Award, the GVSU Alumni Association Outstanding Educator Award, and the GVSU Outstanding Academic Advising and Student Services Award. Her innovative teaching methods, exceptional scholarship and commitment to student success demonstrate her dedication to excellence in education.