Each year, the Bowling Green State University Faculty Excellence Awards honor the educators and researchers who have significantly impacted their fields and the learning community. The dedication of these awardees continues to shape the University and inspire future generations of both students and colleagues.
The awards, presented Wednesday, April 3, in the Lenhart Grand Ballroom at the Bowen-Thompson Student Union, are bestowed by the Faculty Senate and the offices of the President and the Provost and Senior Vice President.
Faculty Senate Awards
The Faculty Senate, composed of faculty representatives from each college plus a representative of retired faculty, presented six awards that lauded community involvement, individual and group leadership and lifetime achievement.
Faculty Senate Distinguished Service Award
The Distinguished Service Award recognizes a faculty member for outstanding continuous University service and highlights the importance of faculty service and the requirement of dedicated faculty for the development and enhancement of the University. The 2024 recipient, who received a plaque, a parking space and a $1,000 award, is Dr. Fei Weisstein of the BGSU Department of Marketing in the Schmidthorst College of Business.
Faculty Mentor Award
The Faculty Mentor Award honors a faculty member for outstanding professional support of their colleagues and focuses on the importance of faculty efforts toward the development of teaching, research and service initiatives among colleagues. This year, Dr. Evan Petersen, associate professor and director of research and faculty development in the School of Physical Therapy in the College of Health and Human Services, was named the faculty mentor award recipient. Petersen received a plaque and a $1,000 award.
Faculty Unit Recognition Award
This year’s Faculty Unit Recognition was bestowed upon the School of the Built Environment. This award recognizes a unit that makes an outstanding overall contribution to BGSU and shows the importance of faculty who work together to make a difference in the educational environment. Faculty with the School of the Built Environment, housed within the College of Technology, Architecture and Engineering, demonstrated a record of effective and sustained collegiality, a commitment to the University’s Core Values and displayed impact upon the quality of the educational program. The award came with a plaque and $1,000.
Leadership as a Chair/School Director Award
For his work leading the School of Engineering, Dr. MD Sarder received the Leadership as a Chair/School Director Award, accepting a plaque and a $1,000 award. Sarder was hailed for his demonstrated excellence in curricular innovation and new programs as well as the enhancement of the school’s mission, among other accomplishments. This year, BGSU introduced three new degree programs within the School of Engineering – robotics engineering, electronic and computer engineering, and mechanical and manufacturing engineering – to further ensure BGSU graduates are ready for these growing careers.
Community Involvement Award
This year’s Community Involvement Award was presented to Dr. Joanna Weaver of the School of Inclusive Teacher Education in the College of Education and Human Development. Weaver was honored with a plaque and $1,000 award for her dedication to community involvement and her ability to infuse public service into the classroom to enhance the education of BGSU students.
Sponsored programs and research awards
Three faculty members were recognized through sponsored programs and research awards, highlighting their contributions at various stages of their academic careers.
Outstanding Early Career Award
Dr. Meagan Docherty of the Department of Psychology in the College of Arts and Sciences was honored with the Outstanding Early Career Award, receiving a plaque and a $1,000 prize. The Outstanding Early Career Award is bestowed upon an outstanding young faculty member who has excelled in scholarly endeavors and the award of $2,000 plus $1,000 deposited into the recipient’s discretionary research account intends to enhance the academic career of the recipient by providing these discretionary funds for support of their future scholarly endeavors.
Olscamp Research Award
The Paul J. Olscamp Research Award was bestowed upon two BGSU researchers this year. Given annually by the Office of Sponsored Programs and Research to a faculty member for outstanding scholarly or creative accomplishments during the previous three years, the award includes a $2,000 cash prize and a reserved parking spot for a year. This year, the two award winners were Dr. Kevin McCluney of the Department of Biological Sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences and Dr. Jason Whitfield of the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders in the College of Health and Human Services.
BGSU President’s and Provost awards
Each year, the President’s Office and the Office of the Provost present awards to outstanding BGSU faculty members who make a significant impact in research by working collaboratively with others and by providing impactful research opportunities to their students.
Elliott L. Blinn Award for Faculty Undergraduate Student Innovative Basic Research/Creative Work
The Elliott L. Blinn Award recognizes innovative basic research/creative work conducted by individual faculty members in collaboration with undergraduate students and supports collaboration with additional students. The award is given in memory of Dr. Elliott Blinn, professor of Chemistry, who dedicated his career to sharing with his undergraduate students the excitement of the process of discovery by directly involving them in basic research/creative work. This year’s award went to two recipients: Dr. Joseph Furgal from the Department of Chemistry and Dr. Christopher Ward of the Department of Biological Sciences. The Blinn award allows up to $2,500 that may be awarded directly to a recipient, and additional funds, up to $2,500, may be awarded as a grant to support the involvement of additional undergraduates in research.
President’s Award for Collaborative Research and Creative Work
This year, Dr. Julia Halo of the Department of Biological Sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences was honored with the President’s Award for Collaborative Research and Creative Work. This award, which comes with up to $5,000 to be split between the recipient and to support the addition of students in research, honors innovative research and creative work conducted by faculty members in collaboration with graduate students at BGSU. Halo was honored for her work’s significance to graduate students’ educational development and career aspirations as well as the significance of the work to society in general.
Professorship of Research Excellence
The Professor of Research Excellence title is conferred upon faculty members who have demonstrated exceptional scholarly contributions. This year, Dr. I-Fen Lin of the Department of Sociology in the College of Arts and Sciences was recognized for her excellence in the field and had the three-year title bestowed upon her as well as an annual award of a $3,000 salary stipend and $2,000 for professional development.
Professorship of Service Excellence
The title of Professorship of Service Excellence is bestowed upon a faculty member who has established outstanding national and international recognition through professional service, public service and/or external engagement through their work at the University. This year’s recipient was Dr. Margaret (Peg) Yacobucci of the School of Earth, Environment and Society within the College of Arts and Sciences. In recognition for her work in service excellence, Yacobucci receives the three-year title and an annual award of a $3,000 salary stipend and $2,000 for professional development.
Professorship of Teaching Excellence
Faculty members who receive the Professorship of Teaching Excellence recognition are honored for their extraordinary achievements as effective teachers in their discipline or in interdisciplinary fields. This year’s recipient was Dr. Amy Morgan of the School of Applied Human Development in the College of Education and Human Development. For her extraordinary achievements, Morgan receives the three-year title and an annual award of a $3,000 salary stipend and $2,000 for professional development.
Distinguished Teaching Professor
This year’s recipient of the Distinguished Teaching Professor recognition was Dr. Matthew L. Partin of the Department of Biological Sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences. Partin was honored for demonstrating greatness among multiple criteria of excellence in teaching. The title comes with an award of $1,000 in professional development funds annually until retirement.
