Promoting Excellence at UTSA: Awards for Outstanding Students, Faculty, Staff, and Programs

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Promoting Excellence at UTSA: Awards for Outstanding Students, Faculty, Staff, and Programs

In an ongoing effort to promote excellence within our graduate community, The Graduate School is proud to announce a series of awards for students, faculty, staff, and academic programs here at UTSA. Please visit the links in each category below to learn more about nomination criteria, deadlines, and more.

Students

The Graduate School is pleased to announce a new series of Graduate Student Awards. Up to 24 awards across three categories (Outstanding PhD Dissertation Award, Outstanding Thesis Award and Outstanding Non-Thesis/Capstone/Project Award, and Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Award) will be made annually. Each award includes a $2,000 honorarium and a citation presented during Graduate Student Appreciation Week. For full information, please click here.

Faculty and Staff

The Graduate School is pleased to announce a new series of Graduate Faculty and Staff Awards. Each award includes a $2,000 honorarium and a citation presented during Graduate Student Appreciation Week. Categories include Outstanding Graduate Mentor Award, Outstanding Graduate Advisor of Record Award, and Outstanding Graduate Program Coordinator Award. For full information, please click here.

Programs

The Graduate School is pleased to announce a new series of Graduate Program Awards. Three awards (Innovation in Master's Admissions Award, Innovations in Doctoral and Terminal Master's Program Admissions award, and Outstanding Enrollment Growth in a Master's Program) will be granted annually. Each award includes a $5,000 honorarium for the program and a citation presented during Graduate Student Appreciation Week. For full information, please click here.

2022 Promoting Excellence Award Winners

College Excellence Awards

College of Education and Human Development Outstanding Ph.D. Dissertation Dr. Lina Martín Corredor, Culture, Literacy, and Language Outstanding Thesis Luis Marín, Bicultural Studies Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Madelyn Duffey, Counseling (for teaching in REGSS) Outstanding Graduate Mentor Dr. Iliana Alanís, Interdisciplinary Learning and Teaching Dr. Curtis Brewer, Educational Leadership and Policy Studies Outstanding GAR – Master’s Dr. Felicia Castro-Villarreal, Educational Psychology Dr. Heather Trepal, Counseling Outstanding Program Coordinator Jo Ann Jones, Educational Leadership and Policy Studies	Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design Outstanding Ph.D. Dissertation Syed Hasib Akhter Faruqui Outstanding Thesis Katherine Johnson Outstanding Non-Thesis / Capstone Project Adebayo Dave Ogunlana, Mechanical Engineering Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Ehsan Vafaeihosseini, Civil & Environmental Engineering, and Construction Management Outstanding Graduate Mentor Dr. Vikram Kapoor, Civil & Environmental Engineering, and Construction Management Dr. Yufang Jin, Electrical and Computer Engineering Outstanding Program Coordinator LiPing Bien, Dean's Office
College for Health, Community and Policy Outstanding Ph.D. Dissertation Dr. Colton Daniels, Applied Demography Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant AJ Delgado, Applied Demography Outstanding Graduate Mentor Dr. Shelby Scott, Psychology Dr. Heidi Rueda, Social Work Outstanding GAR – Master’s Dr. Patricia Jaramillo, Public Administration	College of Sciences Outstanding Ph.D. Dissertation Dr. Xueling Zhang, Computer Science Outstanding Thesis Jordan Arnold, Geology Outstanding Graduate Mentor Dr. Jianwei Niu, Computer Science Outstanding Program Coordinator Janice Marshall, Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology
Alvarez College of Business Outstanding Ph.D. Dissertation Dr. Qiang “Kris” Zhou, Marketing Dr. Bingxuan Guo, Marketing Outstanding Non-Thesis / Capstone Project Lauren Wilson, Data Analytics Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Mo Fallah, Finance Outstanding Graduate Mentor Dr. John Wald, Finance Dr. Richard T. Gretz, Marketing Outstanding GAR – Master’s Dr. Dan Davied, Marketing Outstanding GAR – Ph.D. Dr. Kim-Kwang Raymond Choo, Information Systems and Cyber Security Outstanding Program Coordinator Cara Jones, Office of Graduate Studies and Research Jim Aviles, Office of Graduate Studies and Research	College of Liberal and Fine Arts Outstanding Ph.D. Dissertation Dr. Rebecca Friedel, Anthropology Outstanding Thesis Jamie Gillis, Geography Outstanding Non-Thesis / Capstone Project Anahita Younesi, Art Outstanding Graduate Mentor Dr. Walter Wilson, Political Science Dr. Matthias Hofferberth, Global Affairs Outstanding GAR – Master’s Andrea Aleman, MA - Political Science, Global Affairs, & Geography Outstanding GAR – Ph.D. or Terminal Degree Libby Rowe, Master's in Fine Arts

Program Excellence Awards

Outstanding Enrollment Growth in a Master’s Program Winners Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) MS in Cybersecurity Science	Innovation in Doctoral Program Admissions Winner PhD in Information Technology Honorable Mention PhD in Biomedical Engineering
Innovation in Master's Program Admissions Winner MS in Biomedical Engineering Honorable Mention MS in Business

Graduate Student Professional Development Mini-Grant Program

Applied History: Career Paths for Alternative – Academic Historians

Cristobal Lopez, History

Rebecca Gonzalez, History

Dr. Omar Valerio-Jimenez, History

Combating Contributors to Graduate Student Well-being Problems

Kaytlin West, Psychology

Dr. Michael Baumann, Psychology

2020 Promoting Excellence Award Winners

Outstanding Ph.D. Dissertation

Dr. Lori Barkwill Love, Anthropology
Dr. Nancy Castellon, Counseling
Dr. Stephanie Hernandez, Applied Demography
Dr. Mohsen Jozani, Information Systems and Cyber Security
Dr. Ricardo Ramirez, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Dr. C. Vance Thompson, Chemistry

Outstanding Thesis

Diane L. Goettsch-Melendez, Mechanical Engineering
Rebecca Nunu, Geology
Corby Sidebottom, Health and Kinesiology
Ananda Tomas, Political Science

Outstanding Non-Thesis/Capstone Project

Tapsya Nayak, Electrical and Computer Engineering
David Robinson Jr., Urban and Regional Planning
SGT. Joseph Samuel, Music
Reisa Widjaja, Management Science and Statistics

Outstanding Graduate Mentor

Dr. Nehal I. Abu-Lail, Biomedical Engineering and Computer Engineering
Dr. Nazgol Bagheri, Political Science and Geography
Dr. Michael Baumann, Psychology
Dr. M. Kathryn Brown, Anthropology
Dr. Vincent B. Canizaro, Architecture
Dr. Raymond Choo, Information Systems and Cyber Security
Dr. Mark Giles, Educational Leadership and Policy Studies
Dr. Claudia Garcia-Louis, Educational Leadership and Policy Studies
Dr. Chunjiang Qian, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Dr. Johnelle Sparks, Applied Demography
Dr. Keying “Key” Ye, Management Science and Statistics

Outstanding GAR – Master’s

Dr. Evangeline “Vangie” Aguilera, Educational Leadership and Policy Studies
Dr. John Alexander, Architecture
Dr. Dan Davied, Master’s of Science, Business; Master’s of Business Administration
Dr. Jamie McDonald, Communication
Dr. Derek Plantenga, Social Work
Dr. Jennifer Smith, Environmental Science

Outstanding GAR – Ph.D.

Dr. Jamon Halvaksz, Anthropology
Dr. Wei-Ming Lin, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Dr. Corey Sparks, Applied Demography
Dr. Ram Tripathi, Applied Statistics

Outstanding Program Coordinator

Susan Allen, Computer Science
Lisa Ho, Intelligence Community Center for Academic Excellence
Caron Kiley, Office of Graduate Studies and Research
Shandra Rinckoard Bigler, Environmental Science and Ecology
Janie Marshall, Psychology
Khanh Nguyen, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Tara Thompson, History/Academic Advising
Mary Tutor, COLFA Dean’s Office
Diane Wood May, Architecture

Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant

Colton Daniels, Sociology
Samantha Galvan, Marketing
Emily Myers, Music
Shantayan (Kinu) Panda, Applied Statistics

Innovation in Ph.D./Terminal Degree Program Admissions

Winner: Master of Fine Arts – Studio Art
Honorable Mention: PhD in Culture, Literacy and Language

Outstanding Growth in a Master’s Program

Winner: Master of Arts in Global Affairs

Innovation in Master’s Degree Program Admissions

Winner: Master of Arts in School Psychology
Honorable Mention: MS in Business

*Outstanding Ph.D. Dissertation* Dr. Lori Barkwill Love, Anthropology Dr. Nancy Castellon, Counseling Dr. Stephanie Hernandez, Applied Demography Dr. Mohsen Jozani, Information Systems and Cyber Security Dr. Ricardo Ramirez, Electrical and Computer Engineering Dr. C. Vance Thompson, Chemistry	Outstanding Thesis Diane L. Goettsch-Melendez, Mechanical Engineering Rebecca Nunu, Geology Corby Sidebottom, Health and Kinesiology Ananda Tomas, Political Science
*Outstanding Non-Thesis/Capstone Project* Tapsya Nayak, Electrical and Computer Engineering David Robinson Jr., Urban and Regional Planning SGT. Joseph Samuel, Music Reisa Widjaja, Management Science and Statistics	*Outstanding Graduate Mentor* Dr. Nehal I. Abu-Lail, Biomedical Engineering and Computer Engineering Dr. Nazgol Bagheri, Political Science and Geography Dr. Michael Baumann, Psychology Dr. M. Kathryn Brown, Anthropology Dr. Vincent B. Canizaro, Architecture Dr. Raymond Choo, Information Systems and Cyber Security Dr. Mark Giles, Educational Leadership and Policy Studies Dr. Claudia Garcia-Louis, Educational Leadership and Policy Studies Dr. Chunjiang Qian, Electrical and Computer Engineering Dr. Johnelle Sparks, Applied Demography Dr. Keying “Key” Ye, Management Science and Statistics
*Outstanding GAR – Master’s* Dr. Evangeline “Vangie” Aguilera, Educational Leadership and Policy Studies Dr. John Alexander, Architecture Dr. Dan Davied, Master’s of Science, Business; Master’s of Business Administration Dr. Jamie McDonald, Communication Dr. Derek Plantenga, Social Work Dr. Jennifer Smith, Environmental Science	*Outstanding GAR – Ph.D.* Dr. Jamon Halvaksz, Anthropology Dr. Wei-Ming Lin, Electrical and Computer Engineering Dr. Corey Sparks, Applied Demography Dr. Ram Tripathi, Applied Statistics
*Outstanding Program Coordinator* Susan Allen, Computer Science Lisa Ho, Intelligence Community Center for Academic Excellence Caron Kiley, Office of Graduate Studies and Research Shandra Rinckoard Bigler, Environmental Science and Ecology Janie Marshall, Psychology Khanh Nguyen, Electrical and Computer Engineering Tara Thompson, History/Academic Advising Mary Tutor, COLFA Dean’s Office Diane Wood May, Architecture	*Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant* Colton Daniels, Sociology Samantha Galvan, Marketing Emily Myers, Music Shantayan (Kinu) Panda, Applied Statistics
*Innovation in Ph.D./Terminal Degree Program Admissions* Winner: Master of Fine Arts – Studio Art Honorable Mention: PhD in Culture, Literacy and Language *Outstanding Growth in a Master’s Program* Winner: Master of Arts in Global Affairs	*Innovation in Master’s Degree Program Admissions* Winner: Master of Arts in School Psychology Honorable Mention: MS in Business

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Promoting Excellence at UTSA: Awards for Outstanding Students, Faculty, Staff, and Programs

Students

Faculty and Staff

Programs

2022 Promoting Excellence Award Winners

2020 Promoting Excellence Award Winners