CONGRATULATIONS, GRADUATES!
The University of Oklahoma Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences celebrated the achievements of its graduating students at ceremonies on May 14. We appreciate all of those who attended these events and joined us online to joyfully acknowledge the work of our students. The college congratulates the class of 2022. To see more photos from our ceremonies, visit the college’s Facebook page.
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COLLEGE FACULTY AND STAFF AWARD WINNERS NAMED
Each year, the college honors faculty who show commitment, skill, effectiveness, impact and leadership in teaching and scholarship. In addition, the college has announced its Dean’s Staff Award winners and the Dean's Outstanding Advising Award recipients. The purpose of the awards is to recognize staff members and advisors in the departments and programs within the college for their outstanding job performance.
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Kinney-Sugg Outstanding Professor Award
Department of English
Established by Sandy Kinney and Mike Sugg, this award is given to an outstanding faculty member who is a model teacher and an outstanding scholar. Kimberly Wieser joined OU in 2008 and became an associate professor in 2017 in the Department of English. She serves as the associate chair of English, undergraduate director and assessment coordinator, and is an affiliated faculty member with Native American studies and environmental studies. She also directs the activities of the Native Writers Circle of the Americas. Wieser regularly teaches many core English courses, including Critical Methods, Literary and Cultural Analysis and the Capstone. She has taught several different courses on Native American literature in the areas of fiction, drama, nonfiction, women writers and young adult literature. A well-known scholar, editor, poet and award-winning film writer/producer/
performer in literary and cultural studies and Native American studies, Wieser has also made a name for herself in the field of Rhetoric. Her monograph, Back to the Blanket: Recovered Rhetorics and Literacies in American Indian Studies, reclaims Indigenous rhetorical practices, modeling them in ways that reflect their histories and epistemologies. Her work as a mentor helps shape scholarly communities into more inclusive spaces.
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Longmire Prize for Teaching
Department of Psychology
This prize is supported through an estate gift from William and Jane Longmire and is given to a faculty member who holds the rank of assistant professor or higher and exhibits a scholarly and thoughtful approach to innovative thinking. Erin Freeman joined the Department of Psychology in 2017 as the Master Teacher in Statistics and as an associate professor and was immediately tasked with redesigning the traditional and online undergraduate statistics curriculum. Through her redesign, Freeman uses statistics as an investigative process of problem-solving and decision-making. The department now focuses on “statistical thinking” and gives students the opportunity to explore the complexities in a variety of contemporary challenges – a transformational, pedagogical shift that benefits our students.
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James and JoAnn Holden Faculty Award
Department of Sociology
The James and JoAnn Holden Faculty Award was established through a generous donation by James and JoAnn Holden and given to a faculty member who demonstrates excellence in teaching courses at the freshman or sophomore level as well as leadership in research. Many of the courses taught by Constance Chapple center around criminology and social inequality and range from Social Problems to Capstone in Criminology. Chapple’s research interests include the consequences of criminal justice contact, family influences on delinquency, gender and crime, and child maltreatment and childhood adversity. She is a principal investigator of an OU VPRP Big Idea Challenge Grant and leads a transdisciplinary team of faculty who are conducting research on Child Wellbeing and Opportunities across the Lifespan that examines the occurrence of adverse childhood experiences and their detrimental effects of substance abuse and early mortality in Oklahoma. Recently, Chapple accepted the role as faculty director of the Carceral Studies Consortium.
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James and JoAnn Holden Faculty Award
Homer L. Dodge Department of Physics and Astronomy
The James and JoAnn Holden Faculty Award was established through a generous donation by James and JoAnn Holden and given to a faculty member who demonstrates excellence in teaching courses at the freshman or sophomore level as well as leadership in research. Nathan Kaib joined OU in 2015 as an assistant professor in the Homer L. Dodge Department of Physics and Astronomy. Kaib’s research interests include the formation and evolution of planetary systems, those of our Sun and other stars as well. He currently teaches Exploring the Universe, Life in the Universe, Introductory Astrophysics for Majors and a graduate course that he designed, Planetary Astrophysics. Kaib is also an extremely effective and generous mentor for graduate students. Since joining OU, Kaib has won over $1.8 million in external funding.
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John H. and Jane M. Patten Teaching Award
Department of Modern Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics
Established by John and Jane Patten, this award is given to a faculty member in the humanities or social sciences who has made an outstanding contribution as a classroom instructor. Joshua Frydman joined the Department of Modern Languages, Literatures and Linguistics as assistant professor of Japanese in 2016. He is an outstanding teacher who regularly teaches courses in English on Japanese literature and culture, specifically Premodern Japanese Literature and Culture, Traditional Japanese Poetry and Poetics, and in some years, Anime: the World of Japanese Animation. He also teaches upper-level Japanese languages courses, including Introduction to Classical Japanese and the Japanese Capstone. His research focuses on the origins of writing in Japan and its effect on the creation and development of early Japanese literature, with a particular focus on archaeological inscriptions of poetry from the seventh through 10th centuries CE.
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Irene Rothbaum Outstanding Assistant Professor Award
Department of Economics
Established by Julian Rothbaum in his wife’s memory, this award annually recognizes an outstanding teacher and researcher in the college at the assistant professor level. Ransom joined OU in 2017 as an assistant professor of economics and he quickly established himself as a gifted teacher, a brilliant and focused scholar and a dedicated servant to the department At the undergraduate level, he teaches the Economics of Education and Econometric Analysis courses. Prior to Ransom’s engagement with Econometrics, the general perception was that it was impossible to earn strong student evaluations from the course. He changed this by developing an experience centered around data management/coding/programming, which prepares students for the current labor market In addition to Ransom's impeccable teaching record, he is a leading scholar in the department. He has already published 10 articles within his first four years at OU.
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Dean’s Outstanding Academic Advising Award
Corey Quiett (Economics)
Corey Quiett was hired in the fall of 2017 and quickly adapted to and mastered OU institutional regulations, policies and procedures and incorporated this into her advising. She has served as an advisor for to the Econ Club and is an advocate for students. Her insight led to the Graduate College making a policy change to allow students in the accelerated economics program to obtain dual degrees. In addition, she works to ensure an environment of inclusivity in her office, as supported by her involvement in the LGBTQ Ally program, the Green Zone program and frequent attendance of AARC enrichment events.
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Dean’s Outstanding Academic Advising Award
Kristin Smithmier (Health and Exercise Science)
Kristin Smithmier joined the advising team in 2018 and has played a critical role in the health and exercise science department’s improvement and success. She is also an instructor for the University College (Gateway to College Learning and Strategies for Success). This is in part of her involvement in several high-impact activities through the Provost’s Advisory Committee on Academic Advising. She is also committed to serving students with integrity and empathy and is intentional about making an impact on their college journey. She is responsible for advising 350 undergraduate students with 30-minute individual advising appointments throughout the year on top of walk-in hours and meetings with prospective transfer students and their families.
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Dean’s Outstanding Staff Award
Kristi Wright (Communication, Financial and Operations Manager)
Kristi Wright is a pillar of stability, experience, institutional memory and an amazing support system who has kept the communication department together over the years. Wright manages the budgetary operations for the department and organizes events. During the pandemic, she has managed staff and their remote work; activity remained undisturbed due to her efficiency and superior job performance. She has been essential to continuing the department’s success through several important staff changes. She has stepped in and fulfilled the role of undergraduate advisor as new hires were trained. Additionally, she is credited with helping to ease the transition with the new department chair last summer. During her 29 years in the department, she has worked with eight different chairs.
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Dean’s Outstanding Staff Award
JA Pryse (Carl Albert Center, Senior Archivist)
JA Pryse’s work bringing our collections online helps put the university in a good light. He worked incredibly hard to get the digital archival platform for the center up and running. This platform will set the base for the future of our archives. He also helped other units across campus (the ROTC and National Weather Center) archive their materials. He has helped the center secure a million-dollar donation from a donor and was instrumental in helping land a $300,000 NSF grant. He is a leader in the archival profession in Oklahoma and nationally as an executive board member for the National Association of Government Archives and Records Administrators.
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Dean’s Outstanding Staff Award
Mike Todd (Microbiology and Plant Biology, Building Manager)
Mike Todd is the epitome of an outstanding employee, and he has demonstrated dedication to superb service and tackled his job duties with a wonderful attitude. He has been instrumental in making George Lynn Cross Hall a more safe, welcoming and functional place to work. When he joined the staff in 2019, he inherited many challenges. He took it upon himself to clean up the unaddressed buildup of equipment throughout the building and he established a record of equipment, which included wading through a spreadsheet of 300 items and going room to room to account for each item. When he started in 2019, Todd quickly earned the trust of staff, faculty and students. He has built solid working relationships in the department, with those in facilities and outside contractors.
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Dean’s Outstanding Staff Award
Michael Hillerby (Mathematics, Assistant to the First-Year Math Director)
In addition to his assigned tasks, what makes Michael Hillerby special is his positive attitude and how he goes above and beyond. There are numerous examples of this, including how he volunteered to be the building safety coordinator for all of the Physical Sciences building, and how he helped with the Presidential Dream Course advertising. He also takes great pride in managing the digital signage for the mathematics department. When the department held faculty job interviews in the pandemic, they tried to make all the interviews friendly and informative. Hillerby suggested that he show pictures of the department, campus and Norman and then created a 45-minute presentation he has now given 18 times and has proved to be one of the most successful parts of interviews with job candidates.
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ANNUAL KALEIDOSCOPE EVENING HELD TO CELEBRATE THE COLLEGE
On April 21, the college held Kaleidoscope Evening to celebrate and honor faculty, students, alumni and distinguished service awards winners. To view photos from the event on the college Facebook page, click here. The college appreciates all who attended this special evening and those who contributed to help support student scholarships. For their contributions on the local, state, national and international levels, Lotsee Patterson, Karen Gaddis and Allan Saxe were recognized as the 2022 Distinguished Alumni of the Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences. Homer L. Dodge was recognized posthumously with the Distinguished Service Award for his leadership and generosity in support of areas that reflect the values of the college. In addition, Mubeen Shakir was honored as the 2022 Young Alumni Award recipient for his exemplary leadership, service and character. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT AWARD WINNERS
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FACULTY AND DEPARTMENT NEWS |
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FACULTY AND STAFF HONORED BY UNIVERSITY
Each year, OU celebrates the great achievements of its talented faculty through a variety of awards and recognitions. The Office of the Senior Vice President and Provost coordinates awards with other administrative offices. It was an outstanding year for the Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences at the 2022 Norman Campus Faculty Awards and Honors ceremony. In addition, OU and the Staff Senate on the Norman campus recognize dedicated and outstanding staff members through a variety of awards for outstanding performance, service anniversaries and retirements. The college congratulates all of our 2022 faculty and staff award recipients. Thank you for your commitment to serving our university's purpose and contributing to the growth of the OU Family.
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Congratulations to Kyle Harper, professor of classics and letters, who has been selected as a 2022 Andrew Carnegie Fellow. Harper is among a select group of 28 distinguished scholars and writers selected to receive this prestigious award, which provides philanthropic support for scholarship in the humanities and social sciences that addresses important and enduring issues confronting our society. “We are extremely proud of Dr. Kyle Harper on being named an Andrew Carnegie Fellow,” said OU President Joseph Harroz Jr. “A prolific writer and acclaimed historian, Dr. Harper’s groundbreaking scholarship draws from multiple disciplines to examine the progress of humanity and bridging its relevance to today. His selection as a Carnegie Fellow is a clear testament to his research ability and its broad impact.” An internationally noted historian, Harper is the G.T. and Libby Blankenship Chair in the History of Liberty at the university. His work brings the natural sciences into the study of the human past in order to deepen our understanding of the relationship between human societies and the environment. He is the author of four books, including several titles related to religion and Christianity in the Ancient Greek and Roman worlds. His book, The Fate of Rome: Climate, Disease, and the End of an Empire, has been translated into 12 languages and is the first book to examine the catastrophic role that climate change and infectious diseases played in the collapse of Rome’s power. Most recently, he published Plagues upon the Earth: Disease and the Course of Human History, which presents a global history of the role of infectious disease in human history, spanning from human origins to COVID-19. Drawing from a range of disciplines, including the natural sciences, it tells the story of humanity’s long and distinctive struggle with pathogenic microbes and received a PROSE Award for best book in the history of science, medicine and technology category. READ MORE
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Linda T. Zagzebski, an OU professor emerita and pioneer in the field of virtue epistemology – a branch of philosophy concerned with knowledge – has been named to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Founded in 1780, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences honors excellence and convenes leaders to examine new ideas, address issues of importance to the nation and the world, and advances the public good. Zagzebski is a George Lynn Cross Research Professor Emerita and the Kingfisher College Chair of the Philosophy of Religion and Ethics emerita in the Department of Philosophy in the Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences. Her research has consisted of such topics as the intersection of ethics and epistemology, religious epistemology, religious ethics, virtue theory and the varieties of fatalism. She is a past president of the American Philosophical Association Central Division, the American Catholic Philosophical Association and the Society of Christian Philosophers. She was a 2011-12 Guggenheim Fellow. READ MORE
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John Wisniewski, a Presidential Professor of Physics and Astronomy in the Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences, has been selected by NASA’s Director of the Astrophysics Division Paul Hertz to a three-year term on the executive committee of the Exoplanet Exploration Program Analysis Group. ExoPAG is a community-based, interdisciplinary forum for soliciting and coordinating community analysis and input in support of NASA’s Exoplanet Exploration Program. READ MORE
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Professor Donna Nelson, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry in the Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences, has been selected for the Alpha Chi Sigma Hall of Fame. Established in 1982, the Alpha Chi Sigma Hall of Fame recognizes outstanding members of the fraternity and publicizes their contributions to the science and profession of chemistry. She will be inducted on July 13.
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David Vishanoff (Religious Studies) published Islamic Legal Theory: A Critical Introduction Based on al-Juwayni’s Waraqat fi usul al‑fiqh (Indianapolis: Hackett, 2022). Along with a critical edition and English translation of a classic handbook of Islamic legal theory, it offers a novel commentary that highlights the significance of medieval debates for the contemporary concerns of both specialists and students. This thorough and original unpacking of the Sunnī jurist al-Juwaynī’s (1028–1085) Kitāb al-Waraqāt fī uṣūl al-fiqh introduces English-speaking readers to the main concepts, terms, principles and functions of the classical Islamic discipline of legal theory. It offers an ideal entry to the otherwise dense and complex mainstream Sunnī views that dominated Islamic legal thought in al-Juwaynī’s day — and that are still widely accepted today.
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The 26th annual conference of the Western Jewish Studies Association took place on the OU Norman campus in March. The conference was hosted by the Schusterman Center for Judaic and Israel Studies at OU and was held in a hybrid mode, combining in-person and virtual presentations and attendees. There were 83 participants altogether, of whom 45 attended in person. The conference panels covered a wide variety of topics, from Jewish divorce law to Irish-Jewish relations to Mishna and Midrash to Zionist leaders and writers. The WJSA is a nonprofit organization founded in 1995 to organize a Jewish Studies conference every spring at alternating sites in the western United States and Canada. The conference serves as a forum for Jewish studies scholars in this region to present their research, discuss pedagogical issues, network with colleagues in their disciplines, and share information about the funding and organization of Jewish studies programs.
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SIDHVI NAMED OU’S CARL ALBERT AWARD RECIPIENT
Sidhvi Reddy of Birmingham, Alabama, a University of Oklahoma dual-degree student in community health and microbiology, has been named the recipient of the 2022 Carl Albert Award, presented each year to the outstanding senior in the OU Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences. In addition to graduating in May with two bachelor’s degrees, Reddy will also earn minors in chemistry and medical humanities. Reddy, who was born deaf and is the daughter of Indian immigrants, will be attending medical school in the fall and plans to serve the state as a doctor. Her goal is to practice medicine in an underserved area and work predominately with refugees and migrants. Ultimately, she would like to specialize in infectious diseases and work to not only diagnose and treat patients, but also to promote and implement strong public health measures in her community, leading to a healthier future for our nation. The Carl Albert Award, the most prestigious honor given to a student by the OU Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences, is based on academic performance, moral force of character and promise of future service to the state and nation. First presented in 1966, the award was established to honor Carl Albert, the late OU alumnus and U.S. Speaker of the House, for his distinguished undergraduate career and national service. Julian Rothbaum, former state regent and longtime friend of Albert, endowed the award in 1965. READ MORE
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COLLEGE ANNOUNCES OUTSTANDING SENIORS
Each year, the university presents awards of merit to the outstanding seniors of each undergraduate college as selected by the college dean.
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The Outstanding Senior in the Natural Sciences was Mitchelle Katemauswa. She plans to move to Boston to complete a co-op at Merck & Co. She will then pursue her Ph.D. in chemistry at Yale University, with plans to establish a career in drug discovery. |
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In the humanities, our Outstanding Senior was Katherine Currey. She plans to attend graduate school for folklore studies to learn more about the ways ecological knowledge can be encoded in folk narrative and custom and how to sustain these customs in our increasingly technologized world.
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The Outstanding Senior in Professional Programs was Devin Brown. He has served as the chair of Miracle Mindset, a college access program that serves first-generation and low-income high school students in our state and builds bridges between these communities and higher education. He plans to begin his Masters of Public Health at Yale. |
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Ethan Maddy was selected as the Outstanding Senior in the Social Sciences. He plans to attend the University of Cambridge to study global and public health. He has been a dedicated and influential leader on campus in addressing food insecurity as the director of the OU Food Pantry. |
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SEVERAL DODGE FAMILY COLLEGE STUDENTS HONORED AT CAMPUS AWARDS PROGRAM
The college congratulates all of our students who were honored at the 2022 Campus Awards Program. This year, the Letzeiser Gold, Silver and Bronze Medalist were all from the Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences. The gold medalist was Kamryn Yanchick, a political science and Native American Studies graduate who has dedicated her college career to advancing the rights of Indigenous students in Oklahoma and across the country. Parker Primrose was the silver medalist. He is graduating with degrees in public and nonprofit administration and journalism and minors in Spanish, business and international studies. The bronze medalist was Devin Brown, who graduated with a degree in Foundations of Life in the Universe. CLICK HERE FOR A FULL LIST OF THE 2022 SPRING AWARD RECIPIENTS
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FOUR DFCAS STUDENTS NAMED FULBRIGHT AWARD RECIPIENTS
Four students from the Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences have received Fulbright U.S. Student awards for the 2022-2023 academic year from the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. Taylor B. Cozzens, Liliana Ruiz Macias and Elizabeth Smith and OU alumna Katherine Stroh are among approximately 2,200 selected for this prestigious honor. As Fulbright students, they will receive a grant to study, conduct research and teach abroad for the next academic year. Recipients are selected in an open, merit-based competition that considers leadership potential, academic and/or professional achievement, and record of service. “We are exceptionally proud of our Fulbright award recipients who have worked so hard to achieve this tremendous honor,” said OU President Joseph Harroz Jr. “Their selection is a testament to our commitment to offering a world-class education in an environment that supports students in reaching their highest potential. We know they will represent the best of OU in their time abroad.” READ MORE
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2022 GRADUATE STORIES
As the spring semester concluded, the university highlighted several students spanning multiple colleges and hailing from different places. Each student, with their own unique story and diverse background, shared one thing in common – the University of Oklahoma. Several students from the Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences were selected to share their experiences:
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Lauren Riggs - Human Relations
Lauren Riggs was a human relations major who initially came to OU with a passion for helping others in a direct way. Riggs' world was changed forever following her diagnosis with Friedreich's Ataxia prior to her senior year. The revelation of having a rare hereditary disorder did not deter Riggs; rather, it inspired her to pursue her newfound cause to help others.
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Ghazal Ghazi - Library and Information Studies
Ghazal Ghazi is accustomed to wearing multiple hats. Her love of libraries led her to a job with the Tulsa City-County Library system, then, concurrently, to earn her master’s degree in library and information science at OU-Tulsa. All this with an eye on another passion: art. This summer, she'll intern at the Library of Congress and after that... the sky is the limit. SEE GHAZAL'S STORY
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Parker Primrose - Public and Nonprofit Administration
Parker Primrose, from Allen, Texas, is following in the footsteps of his family members by creating an OU legacy of his own: double majoring in public and nonprofit administration and journalism, as well as participating in on-campus organizations and activities, in the process leaving a profound impact on the lives of many. READ PARKER'S STORY
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Researchers at the University of Oklahoma, with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the University of North Texas, the NASA Glenn Research Center and several collaborators within the space power community, recently published a paper in the journal Joule that describes the optimal conditions for testing perovskite solar cells for space. Perovskites are a material used in a type of solar cell, which are devices that convert light into electrical energy. Ian Sellers, a physicist at the University of Oklahoma and a coauthor of the paper, said perovskite solar cells are creating excitement in the photovoltaics community due to their rapidly increasing performance and their high tolerance to radiation that suggests they could be used to provide power for space satellites and spacecrafts. Sellers, who is also the Ted S. Webb Presidential Professor in the Homer L. Dodge Department of Physics and Astronomy in the Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences, and the associate director of the Oklahoma Photovoltaic Research Institute, has mentored multiple graduate students and a postdoctoral researcher in this field. The former postdoctoral researcher in Sellers' lab, Brandon Durant, is now a National Research Council Fellow residing at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory and is one of the coauthors of the paper.
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The National Endowment for the Humanities announced their most recent round of funding, and we congratulate two OU faculty members who were among the awardees for these prestigious grants. The Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History has received a $345,494 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities for a three-year project to provide online access to the museum’s Native American Languages collection for the first time. This is the largest total NEH grant received by an individual investigator at the University of Oklahoma and the second-largest collaborative NEH grant ever awarded to OU. “This is an incredibly important step in the evolution of our collection,” said Raina Heaton, Ph.D., assistant curator of Native American languages and assistant professor of Native American studies at OU. “Access to materials, particularly for those Indigenous people whose intellectual property this is, has always been a challenge for archives like ours that were originally designed around in-person visitation. There are so many possibilities associated with sharing collections online; we are excited to be working with our partners to make digital access to the collections a reality.” READ MORE
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Joseph Mansky (English) was awarded an NEH Summer Stipend for his project “Plays, Libels, and the Public Sphere in Shakespeare’s England.” Summer Stipends support continuous full-time work on a humanities project for a period of two consecutive months. NEH funds may support recipients’ compensation, travel and other costs related to the proposed scholarly research.
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A new global study of Indigenous oyster fisheries led by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History and Temple University, shows that they were hugely productive and sustainably managed on a large scale over hundreds and even thousands of years of intensive harvest. The study’s broadest finding was that long before European colonizers arrived, the Indigenous groups in these locations harvested and ate immense quantities of oysters in a manner that did not appear to cause the bivalves’ populations to suffer and crash. Courtney A. Hofman, an OU assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology, and Turner Hunt, OU anthropology master’s student and Tribal Historic Preservation Officer of the Muscogee Nation were co-authors on a paper published in Nature Communications, suggesting that studying these ancient, sustainable fisheries offers insights to help restore and manage estuaries today. Further, the authors write that these findings make plain that Indigenous peoples in these locations had deep connections to oysters and that their living descendants are long overdue to be involved in decisions about how to manage what is left of this precious coastal resource.
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June 7
Deadline to enter fall 2022 OTIS into the OTIS spreadsheet in OneDrive.
June 22
Fall 2022 OTIS returned to departments to prepare ePAFs
July 15
Sabbatical leave applications for spring 2023 and fall 2023 (two-semester sabbatical) or spring 2023 only are due to the Dean’s office.
Aug. 22
2022 fall semester classes begin
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If you have information or announcements for News & Updates, please submit to the College communication office.
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