Faculty Honored With Awards, New Chairs, Professorships at Honors Convocation

Each year, UNO celebrates excellence and faculty achievement by selecting a small group from among the hundreds of scholars, educators, mentors, and leaders across campus to be recognized for their key contributions to the institution and the academy.

On Thursday, Oct. 15, UNO's 2020 Faculty Honors Convocation honored dozens of faculty with awards as the system, university, and college-level that celebrate research and creativity; mentorship; service learning; and more, as well as identifying newly-named professorships and chairs.

"Every year, UNO builds on the previous year’s successes," Chancellor Jeffrey P. Gold, M.D., said at the ceremony. "This is due, in no small part, to the passion and the dedication of our talented faculty."

Information on the awards, and faculty recipients, is also included below:

• Ceremony and Program
• University-Wide Awards
• Campus-Wide Faculty Awards
• College-Level Faculty Awards
• Named Chairs and Professorships

Ceremony and Program

Download the program

University-Wide Awards

University-Wide Departmental Teaching Award

Department of Teacher Education

Chancellor Gold celebrated the reception of the University-Wide Departmental Teaching Award, UDTA, by the Department of Teacher Education.

The UDTA honors a department that has outstanding pride and loyalty in its dedication to the education and to the mission of its students, at the undergraduate and at the graduate level. These departments within the University of Nebraska have made a unique and highly significant contribution to the teaching effort of the university.

The Department of Teacher Education, in the College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences, is led by Dean Nancy Edick, Ed.D., and Chair Kathy Danielson, Ed.D.

Campus-Wide Faculty Awards

Award for Distinguished Research or Creative Activity

Gina Ligon, Ph.D.
Department of Management, College of Business Administration

Ken Bayles, Ph.D., Associate Vice Chancellor for Research and Creative Activity, presented this award to Gina Ligon, the Jack and Stephanie Koraleski Professor of Collaboration Science in the College of Business Administration.

Ligon is also the Director of the National Counterterrorism, Innovation, Technology, and Education (NCITE) Center for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). This grant, awarded in February of 2020, established UNO as the lead institution for DHS Office of University Programs’ funded research on terrorism prevention and counterterrorism research from 2020-2030. The award was the largest single grant in the University of Nebraska system history.

Outstanding Graduate Mentor Award

Brian McKevitt, Ph.D.
Department of Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences

Deborah Smith-Howell, Ph.D., Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Dean of Graduate Studies, presented this award, which recognizes that unique relationship between a faculty member and his/her graduate students.

Brian McKevitt is a professor of Psychology and is a member of the school psychology program faculty. He earned his Ph.D. in educational psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and his BA in psychology from Boston College. Prior to joining the UNO faculty, he worked for six years as a school psychologist in Iowa public schools. His teaching and research interests focus on assessment, consultation, and evidence-based academic and behavioral interventions for school-age youth.

McKevitt has served as a regional trainer and consultant for school-wide positive behavior interventions and supports and has worked with several local school districts and the Nebraska Department of Education on this work. McKevitt is a Nationally Certified School Psychologist, a certified school psychologist in Nebraska and Iowa, and the Nebraska delegate for the National Association of School Psychologists.

Faculty Service Learning Award

Sachin Pawaskar, Ph.D.
Department of Information Systems and Quantitative Analysis, College of Information Science & Technology

Julie Dierberger, Ph.D., Paul Sather Distinguished Director of the Service Learning Academy, presented this award, which recognizes a UNO faculty member who provides experiential learning experiences by linking coursework to community impact.

Sachin Pawaskar, Ph.D., is a Senior Research Technology Fellow in the College of Information Science and Technology. His teaching focuses on relating theory to practice by creating learning experiences for his students that are centered around service learning and community engagement. As a result, Dr. Pawaskar’s ISQA classes have some form of service earning component.

He joined UNO with over 25 years of experience in the IT industry, which enables him to bring real-world experiences to his students. His community engagement led to collaboration with NU partners UNMC (WeChart), Community Engagement Partnership Initiative, as well as community partners such as Omaha Public Schools, Visiting Nurses Association, Junior Achievement, and Sarpy County Sheriff’s Office, among others. He is actively involved in empowering girls via through FitGirl Inc (EMPOWERU). Pawaskar’s applied research work has led to collaboration with DoD Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency in using computational data science and visualization techniques to help identify missing service personnel from past conflicts.

Excellence in Teaching Award

Ramazan Kilinc, Ph.D.
Department of Political Science, College of Arts and Sciences

Candice Batton, Ph.D., Assistant Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, presented this award, which recognizes superior efforts, dedication, and exemplary conduct in the performance of the university’s first task: the education of its students.

Ramazan Kilinc is an associate professor of political science at UNO. His research focuses on religion and politics with a focus on the Middle East. He is the author of "Alien Citizens: State and Religious Minorities in Turkey and France" and a co-author of "Generating Generosity in Catholicism and Islam: Beliefs, Institutions and Public Goods Provision." His teaching philosophy is rooted in the premise of fostering student engagement in politics as responsible and thoughtful citizens.

Kilinc has taught a diverse array of courses that included introductory level political science courses, upper-level courses on Middle East Politics, service-learning courses, a study abroad course, and an honors colloquium. He is also the director of the UNO Islamic Studies Program and the editor of Siyasa, a blog focusing on politics of the Middle East and the Muslim world.

Faculty Excellence in Engagement Award

Mark Celinscak, Ph.D.
Department of History, College of Arts and Sciences

Sara Woods, M.P.A., Executive Associate to the Senior Vice Chancellor for Community Engagement and Director of the Barbara Weitz Community Engagement Center, presented the inaugural edition of this award, which recognizes outstanding achievement in either global or community engagement.

Mark Celinscak is the Louis and Frances Blumkin Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies and the Executive Director of the Sam and Frances Fried Holocaust and Genocide Academy. He is a historian of twentieth-century Britain and Europe, specializing in war, Holocaust, and genocide studies.

Celinscak is the author of the award-winning Distance from the Belsen Heap: Allied Forces and the Liberation of a Nazi Concentration Camp. He serves on the executive committee of the Consortium of Higher Education Centers for Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights Studies as its treasurer. Celinscak was a Pearl Resnick Postdoctoral Fellow at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. He has held fellowships at the Cohen Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies; the Ray Wolpow Institute for the Study of the Holocaust, Genocide, and Crimes Against Humanity; the Holocaust Educational Foundation of Northwestern University; and the Wiener Library for the Study of the Holocaust and Genocide.

College-Level Faculty Awards

Alumni Outstanding Teaching Award

Sacha Kopp, Ph.D., Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, presented the 2020 UNO Alumni Association Alumni Outstanding Teaching Awards. These awards recognize faculty for their teaching and commitment to student success. The awards were established in 1997 and, since then, have been awarded to more than 200 faculty.

Each year, nine faculty are recognized for their teaching and commitment to student success. Recipients are selected through a competitive process by a committee of their peers in each college.

This year's recipients are:

College of Arts and Sciences

• Alecia Anderson
• Kristin Girten
• Jennifer Harbour

College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences

Kelly Gomez Johnson

College of Business Administration

Angelika Stout

College of Public Affairs and Community Service

Samantha Clinkinbeard

College of Information Science & Technology

Ryan Schuetzler

College of Communication, Fine Arts and Media

Howard Paine

UNL College of Engineering

Michelle Eble-Hankins

Named Chairs and Professorships

James R. Schumacher Chair of Ethics

Erin Bass, Ph.D.
Department of Management, College of Business Administration

Todd Richardson, Ph.D.
Goodrich Scholarship Program, College of Public Affairs and Community Service

D.B. and Paula Varner Professorship

Sara Myers, Ph.D.
Department of Biomechanics, College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences

Angela Eikenberry, Ph.D.
School of Public Administration, College of Public Affairs and Community Service

Albert W. and Helen J. Jefferis Chair of English Literature

Lisabeth Buchelt, Ph.D.
Department of English, College of Arts and Sciences

Distinguished Alumni Professorship of Accounting

Xiaoyan Cheng, Ph.D.
School of Accounting, College of Business Administration

Haddix Community Chair in Science

Christine Cutucache, Ph.D.
Department of Biology, College of Arts and Sciences

Dr. Hollie Bethel Professor of Education

Kathleen Danielson, Ph.D.
Department of Teacher Education, College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences

The John Morgan Community Chair in Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Franchising

Dale Eesley, Ph.D.
Department of Marketing and Entrepreneurship, College of Business Administration

Cheryl Prewett Diamond Professorship

Yuliya Lierler, Ph.D.
Department of Computer Science, College of Information Science & Technology

Blizek Professor in Religion

John Lyden, Ph.D.
Department of Religious Studies, College of Arts and Sciences

Charles W. and Margre H. Durham Distinguished Professor of Information Science & Technology

William Mahoney, Ph.D.
School of Interdisciplinary Informatics, College of Information Science & Technology

William C. Hockett Diamond Professorship

Jennifer Riley, Ph.D.
School of Accounting, College of Business Administration

Professor Robert Ackerman Faculty Fellow of Community Engagement

Sandra Rodriguez-Arroyo, Ph.D.
Department of Teacher Education, College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences

UNO Distinguished Community Research Chair in Biomechanics

Nikolaos Stergiou, Ph.D.
Department of Biomechanics, College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences

Charles W. and Margre H. Durham Distinguished Professor of Information Science & Technology

Mahadevan Subramaniam, Ph.D.
Department of Computer Science, College of Information Science & Technology

Isaacson Professorship

Kristine Swain, Ph.D.
Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders, College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences

Sophie and Feodora Kahn Professorship in Biology

William Tapprich, Ph.D.
Department of Biology, College of Arts and Sciences