The University of Illinois Springfield held a Faculty Honors Reception on Monday, April 17, 2023. Chancellor Janet Gooch and Interim Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Provost Linda Delene presided over the ceremony.

Four major awards – the Pearson Faculty Award, the Spencer Faculty Service Award, the Faculty Excellence Award and the Burks Oakley II Distinguished Online Teaching Award - were presented.

The Pearson Faculty Award for outstanding teaching was presented to Bob Blankenberger, professor in the School of Public Management and Policy. The award recognizes a faculty member whose performance exemplifies UIS’ commitment to excellence in teaching and who stands among the very best teachers on campus. Such a teacher both informs and inspires students, giving them the knowledge and values with which they may become productive and enlightened citizens. The award was established by a gift from Emmet and Mary Pearson, longtime benefactors of the campus.

Blankenberger 's teaching areas relate to public policy, investigating the consequences of policy choices and evaluating the efficiency and effectiveness of public programs. He teaches the DPA program's core and advanced public policy courses (PAD 653 and PAD 657). Blankenberger’s courses inspire and equip students with the required knowledge to solve issues related to public and social issues. He has made significant contributions to policy-related program learning outcomes and assessment strategies, and his assurance of learning suggestions have benefitted several programs at UIS. An exemplary educator, Blankenberger is dedicated to graduate students and has been instrumental in motivating doctoral students to succeed in their dissertations.  

The Spencer Faculty Service Award was given to Amy McEuen, professor in the School of Integrated Sciences, Sustainability and Public Health. Honoring Robert Spencer, founding president of Sangamon State University, this award recognizes faculty who best exemplify the ideal of the “professor-citizen” through public service and service to the academic community.

Described by colleagues as the model of a servant leader and a professor-citizen, McEuen has a long and distinguished record of service at UIS, having served as department chair, chair and member of successful search committees, chair and member of multiple post tenure review committees, faculty advisor for the Biology Club and member of the Campus Senate Sustainability Committee, the Tenure Review Committee and the General Education Council.

McEuen’s many service contributions include her instrumental role in the formation of a new college - the College of Health, Science, and Technology (CHST) - and a new school - the School of Integrated Sciences, Sustainability and Public Health. During the reorganization process, McEuen was selected by her peers to be the Dean’s Fellow, drafting the CHST bylaws, college plan and lab survey. 

Colleagues highlight the care, sensitivity and dedication to allowing all voices and perspectives to be heard, which McEuen demonstrated throughout the reorganization, and college and school formation, processes. 

McEuen’s service on the COVID Academic Planning Committee was also vitally important as she provided the UIS community with expert advice about how to best protect their health. She engages in ongoing advocacy to provide UIS community members with access to the most up-to-date scientific information about the virus.

The Faculty Excellence Award was presented to Donna Bussell, professor of English. The award recognizes mid- and late-career colleagues who best exemplify the ideal of the teacher-scholar and whom faculty recognize as role models, based on sustained accomplishments in teaching and scholarship at the University of Illinois Springfield. The award is funded through the generosity of Wilbur and Margaret Wepner.

Bussell is a well-regarded scholar in her field who publishes and presents regularly about digital humanities and medieval literary culture. Her innovative use of GIS technology to map the medieval nunnery Barking Abbey is a high impact project which has reached audiences outside of, as well as within, the academy, and her co-editing of an edited volume about the Abbey was pioneering work in the field. Bussell brings her scholarly expertise into her classrooms, drawing on her work in digital humanities to help students undertake innovative projects in this growing field. She has a consistent record of teaching excellence, helping to foster a true sense of community in her online classes and inspiring students to do their best intellectual work in all of her courses. Course evaluation reports and student testimonials alike testify to the fact that students find Bussell’s classes both rigorous and enjoyable, that Bussell engages in extensive one-on-one mentorship with her students and that she has a lasting impact on their future lives as citizens and professionals - encouraging them to do their best possible thinking and writing.

Kat Novak, professor in the School of Communication and Media, was honored with the Burks Oakley II Distinguished Online Teaching Award. The award was established by Burks Oakley II, who helped launch UIS’ online programs. The Oakley Award recognizes UIS faculty members whose performance exemplifies the institution’s commitment to excellence in online teaching.

Novak has served numerous roles at UIS, including her vitally important work as a professor. Her students have expressed the extensive ways in which their interactions with Novak have impacted their educational and professional lives. Students have also commented on the rigor and enjoyment of her courses. An important component of the documentation for this award is an evaluation by the Center for Online Learning Research and Service (COLRS). The review by COLRS was complimentary of the design and facilitation of Novak’s courses, as well as instructor-related content, such as assessment, instructional resources and instructions. Students appreciate the valuable resource links Novak shares to help support them during her courses.

Other awards:

Six awards were also presented to faculty this year, including the Faculty Engagement Award, Early Career Scholarship Award, Adjunct of the Year Award, the Faculty Diversity and Inclusion Award, the Outstanding Teacher Award and the Scholarly Impact Award.

The Faculty Engagement Award was presented to Serkan Karadas, assistant professor of accounting, economics and finance. The award recognizes faculty leadership and teaching that creates fruitful engagement and collaboration within the community, building connections between their classrooms and the broader communities. Karadas is dedicated to creating experiential learning opportunities for his students. Examples include a commodity trading game in partnership with Northwestern Mutual for his ECO201 students, and finding industry mentors from TRS and Sikich LLC for his FIN440 students to participate in the CFA Institute Research Challenge competition.

The Early Career Scholarship Award was presented to Sahar Farshadkhah, assistant professor of management information systems. The award recognizes leadership, accomplishments, and excellence in scholarship activities of pre-tenure faculty. This includes traditional notions of the scholarship of discovery, as well as the scholarship of application and integration. As a junior faculty, she has published five articles in high-ranked journals; three of these articles are in journals ranked A in the ABDC list.

Nick Dabbs was the recipient of the Adjunct of the Year Award. The award recognizes the teaching accomplishments of a UIS adjunct faculty member who has taught a minimum of four semesters in the previous three years at UIS. In his innovative approach to teaching English 101 and 102, Dabbs uses creative, thoughtful approaches to help his students develop their writing, critical thinking, information literacy and civic engagement skills. 

The recipient of the Faculty Diversity & Inclusion Award was Timothy Hakenewerth, assistant professor of counseling and social work. The award recognizes faculty leadership, accomplishments and excellence in professional activities that contribute to the institutional mission of increasing diversity, equity and inclusion, counteracting inequality and inopportunity and contributing to struggles for inclusion of minority, marginalized and/or historically under-represented groups. Hakenewerth came to UIS in the Fall of 2020. Since that time, he has established an impressive record of advocacy, promotion of an environment of inclusion and focus on supporting marginalized populations.

Timothy Bill, instructor in the School of Communication and Media, was honored with the Outstanding Teacher Award. The award is intended to recognize the teaching accomplishments of non-tenure system faculty. Bill came to UIS in 2018 as an instructor in communication and director of speech and debate. He consistently teaches the required oral communication general education course; which students often do not willingly choose to take. Despite this fact, Bill’s course evaluations ratings are strong and supported by positive student comments.

Anne-Marie Hanson, associate professor in the School of Integrated Sciences, Sustainability and Public Health, earned the Scholarly Impact Award. The award recognizes leadership, accomplishments and excellence in scholarship activities of tenured faculty. This includes traditional notions of the scholarship of discovery, as well as the scholarship of application and integration. Hanson has gained international recognition as a scholar and expert in feminist political ecology, specifically through research on women’s critical role in mitigating waste and pollution problems in vulnerable coastal areas.

Tenure, promotions and sabbaticals announced

Faculty recommended for tenure include:

• Salem Boumediene – Accounting, Economics and Finance
• Youngjin Kang – Public Management and Policy
• Hasan Kartal - Management Information Systems
• Sean McCandless - Public Management and Policy
• Mohi Uddin – Accounting, Economics and Finance
• Livia Arndall Woods – English and Modern Languages

Recommended for promotion to full professor were:

• Bob Blankenberger – Public Management and Policy
• Ahmad Juma’h – Accounting, Economics and Finance
• Bill Kline – Management, Marketing and Operations
• Amy McEuen – Integrated Sciences, Sustainability and Public Health
• Michael Murphy – Women and Gender Studies

Faculty members nominated for emeritus status were:

• Denise Bockmier-Sommers - School of Public Management and Policy, Human Services
• Ethan Lewis - English and Modern Languages

Sabbatical leaves have been recommended for:

• Peter Boltuc - Mathematical Sciences and Philosophy 
• Brandon Derman - Integrated Sciences, Sustainability and Public Health
• William Kline - Management, Marketing and Operations 
• Jennifer Martin - Education 
• Sudeep Sharma - Management, Marketing and Operations 
• Megan Styles - Integrated Sciences, Sustainability and Public Health 
• Missy Thibodeaux-Thompson - Art, Music and Theatre 

All promotion, tenure, sabbatical leave, and emerita/emeritus status recommendations are subject to approval by the University of Illinois Board of Trustees.