By Bianca de Toledo Piza
The College of Liberal Arts is pleased to announce the 2023 college award winners where staff and faculty are recognized for their contributions to their units, the college, the university, and to their colleagues and their profession/discipline.
See University-wide Celebrate! Colorado State Awards, including Office of the Provost awards.
William E. Morgan Endowed Chair
The Morgan Endowed Chair is one of the highest faculty honors in the College of Liberal Arts. Created by friends and family of the late president, the Morgan Endowment provides funds to support scholarly work that advances the research, teaching, and service of the awardee and the mission of the College of Liberal Arts. In addition to a strong record of excellence in research and/or artistry, the awardee must demonstrate an excellent teaching record and a commitment to service and outreach. Previous Morgan Chairs have established the Public Lands History Center, the ACT Human Rights Film Festival, and the Regional Economic Development Institute at CSU.
Greg Dickinson
Department of Communication Studies
Greg Dickinson is recognized for his entrepreneurial approach to leadership, his accomplishments in scholarship, teaching, and administrative services, and his vision for using the Morgan Award to help coalesce existing strengths in the college through the development of the Center for Engaged Humanities.
Carl A. Bimson Humanities Seminar
A bequest from Mr. Bimson’s estate provides funding for an ongoing series of humanities seminars. Mr. Bimson envisioned seminars that would bring primary and secondary teachers to CSU’s campus to engage in advanced study of various topics of humanistic learning, facilitated by CLA faculty. In the liberal arts tradition, the College has extended the meaning of “humanities” to encompass the performing and creative arts, humanities, and social science disciplines.
Tracy Brady & Robert Gudmestad
Department of History
Social studies education is being challenged by the culture war issues in the United States. At CSU Spur’s campus, Dr. Brady and Dr. Gudmestad will host a seminar in collaboration with CSU history faculty to provide middle and high school educators from Jeffco Public Schools, Adams 12 Five Star Schools, and Denver Public Schools practical content knowledge and classroom resources to help them find historically accurate paths forward.
Ann Gill Faculty Development Award
The Ann Gill Faculty Development Award is funded by generous donors to the College of Liberal Arts through the College’s Great Conversations program. This supports annual awards for outstanding research and creative activity by tenured and tenure-track faculty in the College.
Lynn Badia
Department of English
Lynn Badia received this award for her projects “Imagining Free Energy: Fantasies, Utopias, and Critiques of America,” which focuses on how society would be transformed by “limitless” energy, and “A Century’s Quest for Free Energy,” which is an article that examines an FBI file Badia obtained after making a two-year Freedom of Information Act appeal to the FBI.
Adrienne Cohen
Department of Anthropology and Geography
Adrienne Cohen received this award for her ethnographic research project in cultural anthropology, “Stone Intimacies: Vertical Competence and Posthuman Relations in American Rock Climbing,” that analyses rock climbers, their kinesthetic and linguistic practices, and the rocks they form relationships with.
Megan Lewis
School of Music, Theatre, and Dance
Megan Lewis received this award for her project “The Plays of Darkness and Mystery: Brett Bailey & Third World Bunfight’s Later Works,” which contributes to the field of theatre studies and provides analyses on South African artist Brett Bailey’s oeuvre and his impact.
Alyssia Miller De Rutté
Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures
Alyssia Miller De Rutté received this award for her project “Designing Virtual Reality Simulations for Implementation in Medical Spanish Courses,” in which she will be designing, developing, and deploying virtual reality simulations and scenarios to facilitate future health professionals into learning medical processes in Spanish.
Rosa Nam
Department of English
Rosa Nam received this award for her project “Dual Pandemics and the Racialized Experiences of Asian American Students, Staff, and Faculty at an AANAPISI in the South,” which discusses and analyzes Asian Americans’ experiences in the south post the COVID-19 pandemic in a university setting.
Ernesto Sagás
Department of Ethnic Studies
Ernesto Sagás received this award for his project “Race and Political Polarization in the Americas,” which analyzes the increased political polarization, the influence of race on politics, and the various connections between the two in the Americas.
Ann Gill Faculty Development Award for Collaborative Projects
The Ann Gill Faculty Development Award for Collaborative Projects provides funding for faculty members who are working collaboratively. This award facilitates ongoing research and creative activity to faculty working on team-teaching, research, and interdisciplinary work.
Caridad Souza & Claire Chien
Department of Ethnic Studies
Department of Art and Art History
The winners of this year’s award are Caridad Souza and Claire Chien, whose project “Talking Across Differences: A Critical Arts-based Intersectional Healing Justice Workshop for International Students” examines the impact of cultural, gender, and racial bias on Asian International students at Colorado State University by providing tools for combatting cultural and racial battle fatigue toward more equilibrium and calm.
Excellence in Teaching Awards
The CLA Excellence in Teaching Awards recognize one outstanding teacher in each of the following four categories: Graduate Teaching Assistant, Non-Tenure Track Faculty, Tenure-Track Faculty, and Associate Professor. Full professors, who are eligible for the John N. Stern Distinguished Professor Award, are not eligible for this award.
Price Johnston, Tenured Category
School of Music, Theatre, and Dance
Price Johnston received this award for his “professional expertise, tireless hours mentoring students, and passionate commitment to developing young artists.” Professor Johnson has proven to be a valuable mentor and professor by using a creative approach to teaching and being committed and devoted to his students.
Kira Marshall-McKelvey, GTA Category
Department of Communication Studies
Kira Marshall-McKelvey’s ability to create an outstanding educational environment in her classroom, her impact as Assistant Director of the Basic Course for the Department of Communication Studies, and her initiative to serve as the Graduate Coordinator of Professional Development at TILT are all indicators of what her nominators describe as “an outstanding candidate”. Her significant impact in her students’ lives and her dedication to creating an inclusive classroom climate is what earned her this year’s award.
Suzanne Kent, NTTF Category
Department of Anthropology and Geography
Dr. Kent’s continued efforts to improving her course approaches, her willingness to promote a diverse background that encompasses the interests and needs of her students, and her dedication and support in her classroom is what made her the winner of this year’s award.
Jessie Luna, Tenured Track Category
Department of Sociology
This year’s award goes to Dr. Luna, who is described by her nominator as an undoubtably outstanding teacher. Dr Luna’s strengths that set her up for excellence include: “passion for teaching, quality of courses, creativity and innovation in teaching methods, challenging coursework, approachability to students, support for students beyond the classroom, and superb formal and informal student evaluations.”
Distinction in Curricular Innovation Award
This award is presented in recognition of a member of the College faculty who has made outstanding contributions to curricular innovation in the College. Curricular innovation may include, but is not limited to, such areas as program development, instructional methods, service learning, and technology integration.
Scott Diffrient
Department of Communication Studies
Dr. Diffrient has had an outstanding impact in the Department of Communication Studies, having been a professor of film and media studies since 2007. He is leading the way to expanding and innovating the curriculum by promoting diversity and designing new courses.
Outstanding Engaged Scholarship Award
The Outstanding Engaged Scholarship Award is presented in recognition of a member of the College who has shown an exemplary commitment to engaged scholarship.
Stephanie Malin
Department of Sociology
As her nominator comments, “Dr. Malin’s work on extractive industries and their environmental justice, health, and economic effects in marginalized communities makes important contributions to engaged scholarship.” Her research has had a significant impact on communities affected by activities such as uranium mining and oil and gas development. Her hard work and dedication to engaged scholarship makes her this year’s award recipient.
Distinction in Outreach
The Distinction in Outreach Award is presented in recognition of a member of the College who has shown an exemplary commitment to outreach.
Noah Racey
School of Music, Theatre, and Dance
Professor Racey’s tireless work on his three outreach initiatives, the NoCo Theatre Group (2022), a musical theatre workshop at SPUR (2023), and a Broadway Bootcamp (2024), his passion for advocating for the performing arts, and his long-lasting impact on the School of Music, Theatre, and Dance, is what led him to be the recipient of this year’s award.
John N. Stern Distinguished Professor
This award is presented annually by the College of Liberal Arts to honor faculty who have demonstrated exemplary accomplishments in all aspects of their professional responsibilities over an extended period of time. The awards are given in the name of John N. Stern, who has endowed the award as part of his donations to the College.
Sasha Steensen
Department of English
Professor Steensen has been an exemplary teacher ever since her arrival at Colorado State University in 2005. She has produced 6 books, 6 chapbooks, and over 60 pieces in refereed journals or anthologies. Professor Steensen has had a significant impact on both students and her fellow faculty, as her nomination reads: “Professor Steensen’s impact on the hearts and minds of students and readers and colleagues is such that the light of her passage through our lives lingers long after the moment of contact has passed.”
Outstanding Service Award
This award recognizes a member of the College who has made outstanding service contributions to a CLA department, the College, University, profession, and/or community.
Mica Glantz
Department of Anthropology and Geography
Dr. Glantz is receiving this year’s award due to her tireless and extraordinary service to the College of Liberal Arts. Her sustained service to multiple departments in the College and in leadership with the University as related to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion demonstrate her commitment to improving the inclusive environment for students and the greater CSU community.
Excellence in Undergraduate Mentoring Award
The College of Liberal Arts Excellence in Undergraduate Mentoring Award honors faculty who contribute to an engaging, supportive, inclusive academic environment through their mentorship of students.
Andrea Purdy
Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures
As per her nominator’s description, Dr. Andrea Purdy “is constantly striving to become a better educator, a better support for her students and colleagues, [and] a better mentor”. Her dedication to becoming the best professional she can be shines through in her efforts to attend professional development workshops to better understand students and their needs. Her students are always at the core of her initiatives.
Excellence in Graduate Mentoring Award
The College of Liberal Arts Excellence in Graduate Mentoring Award honors faculty who contribute to an engaging, supportive, inclusive academic environment through their mentorship of students.
Karrin Anderson
Department of Communication Studies
Dr. Anderson’s commitment to mentoring graduate students has made a significant impact not only on her mentees, but to Colorado State University as a whole. As noted by her nominator, “Dr. Anderson’s commitment to graduate student mentoring has shaped nearly every aspect of her career, and her efforts have benefited students in our department, our college, and the wider disciplinary community.
Administrative Professional Award
The College of Liberal Arts Administrative Professional Award recognizes meritorious and outstanding achievement in job skills and/or service to the college by Administrative Professional employees. This may include excellent job skills and workplace achievements above what is normally expected.
Rosanna Bateman
CLA Academic Support Center
Because of her exceptional leadership and willingness to step up as the Assistant Director of the CLA Academic Support Center during the busiest time of the semester, Rosanna Bateman is the winner of this year’s award. Rosanna gracefully took on her new role, providing support and creating an extremely positive and productive work environment for staff and students.
State Classified Award
The College of Liberal Arts State Classified Award recognizes meritorious and outstanding achievement in job skills and/or service to the College by State Classified employees. This may include excellent job skills and workplace achievements that are above what is normally expected.
Allison Pine
Department of History
Allison Pine has proved to be an asset not only to the history department, but to the College of Liberal Arts as a whole. She has created and updated systems that improve the functioning of the department, while also becoming a mentor and a role model for many.
