College of Arts & Sciences to Honor Faculty, Staff, Students at 1st Awards Ceremony

LOGAN — The College of Arts & Sciences has announced 40 award winners who will be honored for outstanding research, creative work, service and scholarship.

An internal awards ceremony for students, faculty and staff will begin 3 p.m. March 25 in the Taggart Student Center. Awardees in several categories will then go on to represent ArtSci at the university-wide awards ceremony on April 1.

The awards announced earlier this year celebrate faculty, staff and students whose teaching, mentorship and scholastic achievements define ArtSci as the college prepares to hold its first awards ceremony following its formation in July 2025. The new structure merged the former Caine College of the Arts, the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, and four departments from the former College of Science. To ensure all disciplines were represented after the merger, ArtSci was granted a special exception to nominate multiple recipients across several categories this year.

Award Winners

ArtSci Teacher of the Year

Andreas Malmendier, Mathematics & Statistics and Sydney O’Shay, Communication & Media.

ArtSci Researcher of the Year

Peter Crooks, Mathematics & Statistics and Felipe Valencia, World Languages & Cultures.

ArtSci Undergraduate Faculty Mentor of the Year

Amanda Katz, History, Cultures & Ideas and Elsa Pérez, World Languages & Cultures.

ArtSci Undergraduate Research Mentor of the Year

Holly Murdock, Art + Design and Dorothy Wallis, Social Work.

ArtSci Graduate Faculty Mentor of the Year

Sarah O’Neill, World Languages & Cultures and Moria Robinson, Biology.

ArtSci Faculty Service Award

Cathy Rushworth, Biology and Jennifer Sinor, English.

ArtSci Faculty Community-Engaged Award

Jayne Gold, Theatre Arts and Stacia Ryder, School of Social Sciences.

ArtSci Cazier Lifetime Achievement Award

D. Andy Anderson, Biology and Jim Powell, Mathematics & Statistics.

ArtSci Distinction in Creativity

Sasha Kasman Laude, Music.

ArtSci Lecturer of the Year

Dustin Crawford, English and Nicholas Pardikes, Biology.

ArtSci Professional Practice/Clinical Faculty of the Year

Angela Montague, School of Social Sciences and Lydia Semler, Theatre Arts

ArtSci Professional Advisor of the Year

Cyrita Green, Social Work.

ArtSci Staff Excellence Award

Carmell Burns, Social Work; James Coburn, Physics; Carol Hatch, English and Cindy Weatbrook, Chemistry & Biochemistry.

ArtSci Doctoral Student Researcher of the Year

Mufti Ahmed, School of Social Sciences and Jesse Brown, Chemistry.

ArtSci Master’s Student Researcher of the Year

Haley Fisher, Chemistry and Tori Strausser, Biology.

ArtSci Undergraduate Researcher of the Year

Ella Stott, English and Trace Taylor, Physics.

ArtSci Graduate Student Instructor of the Year

Cara Haderlie, Technical Communication & Rhetoric and Gavin Munson, Biology.

ArtSci Legacy Award

Henry Greene, Communication & Media and Carlie Prinster, Mathematics & Statistics.

ArtSci Valedictorian

Alexis Lupus, Public Health.

ArtSci Scholar of the Year

Kaitlyn Line, Social Work and Connor Waite, Physics.

ArtSci Kiwanis Award

Jacey Hopkin, Biology.

Student excellence is a primary focus of the upcoming festivities. Alexis Lupus, the ArtSci valedictorian and a public health student, credited her success to her multidisciplinary background.

"I've been involved in both the arts and the sciences throughout my life," Lupus said. "I feel that my dedication to these disciplines has brought me to this moment.”

Other student honorees include physics senior and NASA research assistant Connor Waite and social work student Kaitlyn Line, both recognized as ArtSci Scholar of the Year recipients.

"This recognition is deeply meaningful to me because it recognizes the importance of centering community voices," Line said. "I am honored to be part of a college that values research designed to inform practice and strengthen communities."

The faculty and staff awards celebrate the mentors, researchers and educators who strengthen and inspire the ArtSci community. Cyrita Green received the college’s Professional Advisor of the Year Award and said she was incredibly honored to earn this recognition.

“As an academic advisor, I want students to feel confident in themselves, help them persevere through challenges and support them in their personal exploration towards success. Winning this award reinforces those values and student-centered mission, and I could not be more grateful,” Green said.

Professor Jennifer Sinor was selected for the ArtSci Faculty Service Award.

"Service always begins with gratitude," said Sinor, who serves as the director of graduate studies for English. "For me, service is about relationships and trying to ensure that people feel seen, heard and held."

To bring additional awareness to exceptional teaching, research and creative endeavors in the college, ArtSci launched the “Faculty in Focus" series this spring, which showcases innovation within the college and features several of this year’s awardees. These events can be found on the college events calendar: artsci.usu.edu/calendar.

More information about the college’s award selection process is available at artsci.usu.edu/awards.