Strategy 6 Stories: Developing and Recognizing Our People
6. Increase the number, meaning, and visibility of internal and external awards our people receive.
The narratives below define and bring clarity to what each of the University Strategic Goals means to Academic Affairs. The narratives express our values and beliefs, and create a context to guide implementation efforts. To learn more about the specific strategies and tactics involved in developing and recognizing our people, please view our Academic Affairs Strategic Plan.
Kent State’s Scholar of the Month recognizes faculty researchers and scholars whose recent work has had an important impact on their professional fields and has brought exposure to the university. Each month, a different college nominates a researcher/scholar for this recognition. There is also a month when a faculty member from the Regional Campuses is featured. Scholars’ of the Month articles are posted on the Kent State website home page as a featured story and then these stories are archived under the News and Events webpage.
The University has several internal annual award programs to recognize faculty accomplishments.
- Distinguished Teaching Award The Distinguished Teaching Award is the university’s most prestigious honor in teaching for full-time, tenure-track faculty. The award is presented annually to three full-time faculty members who demonstrate extraordinary teaching in the classroom and a devotion to touching the lives of students. Qualified nominees include Kent State tenure-track faculty who are currently employed by the university. These awards are given on several campuses:
- Kent Campus: Catherine Leslie, Ph.D., an associate professor in Kent State University’s School of Fashion Design and Merchandising, was honored with the prestigious Distinguished Teaching Award. Leslie has taught more than 4,000 students in her 11 years of teaching at the university. She received a Graduate Applause recognition from the University Teaching Council, the Student Choice Award from the Fashion School and the Outstanding Faculty Award from Student Disability Services.
- Tuscarawas Campus: Dr. Zhiqiang (Molly) Wang, associate professor of chemistry, is the recipient of the 2014 Kent State Tuscarawas Distinguished Teaching Award. She was recognized for her enthusiasm and commitment to her profession, and for possessing a comprehensive knowledge of her subject matter, effective organization and presentation of the subject matter, and for developing an understanding of the topic material. A tenured faculty member, Molly began teaching at Kent State Tuscarawas in 2007.
- Distinguished Research Award The recipients of the 2014 Outstanding Research and Scholarship awards were Marcia Lei Zeng, professor of library and information sciences; James Tyner, professor of geography and Quan Li, senior research fellow in the Liquid Crystal Institute.
- 2013 Outstanding Term Teaching Award Recipients Sponsored by the University Teaching Council, this award is intended to honor outstanding teaching by non-tenure-track and part-time faculty at Kent State University. These awards parallel the Distinguished Teaching Awards sponsored by the Kent Alumni Association: Every year, three Kent faculty members will be honored with awards of $1,500 each for their outstanding achievements in teaching. The winners for this past year were: Robin Joynes, Psychology; Uma Krishnan, English; and, Randy Ruchotzke, Mathematical Sciences.
- Outstanding Research and Scholar Award Three Kent State University faculty members were recognized during a ceremony on March 19 as the university honored its Outstanding Research and Scholar Award recipients. The recipients of the 2013 award are Michael Loderstedt, School of Art; Katherine Rawson, Department of Psychology; and Carrie Schweitzer, Department of Geology, Kent State University at Stark.
- Celebration of Engagement and Service Kent State University at Trumbull’s Susan Emens, Ph.D., term regional fellow, business management, was recognized at the 2014 Celebration of Engagement and Service, sponsored by the Office of Experiential Education & Civic Engagement (OEECE), April 10 at Moulton Hall Ballroom. The event recognized and celebrated faculty, students, and staff who committed their time and talents to address community needs through course-based experiential learning and service activities. The event also hosted a display of model service activities that have provided academic experiences to students. The event also provided a chance to formally recognize outstanding service by members of the KSU community.
- Physics Professor Awarded the Distinguished Award of Council by ACESS The Akron Council of Engineering and Scientific Societies (ACESS) selected Satyendra Kumar, Ph.D., professor of physics at Kent State University, to receive the Distinguished Award of Council. The award will be presented at the 66th Annual ACESS Honors & Awards Banquet on Nov. 7 at Guy's Party Center in Akron. The purpose of the award, given annually since 1959, is to recognize an outstanding Akron area citizen for his/her involvement in civic activities as well as technical and managerial abilities. Recipients are noted for their outstanding involvement which increases the prestige and enhances the image of the engineering and scientific profession.
