Accolades News for Researchers
Posted April 30, 2020 by Tiffany Lee
Awards, Honors and Recognition
Katherine Ankerson, architecture, was inducted into the International Interior Design Association College of Fellows for 2020. This is the IIDA’s most prestigious honor, which fewer than 1% of IIDA members receive. Induction as a fellow honors a member’s achievements and contributions to the profession and association, with an emphasis on exemplary professionalism and leadership.
Wayne Babchuk, educational psychology, received the 2020 McGraw Hill Distinguished Scholar Award from the Ethnographic and Qualitative Research Conference. The award recognizes outstanding scholarship among EQRC participants and encourages scholars to continue participating in the conference. Babchuk’s work focuses on the history, epistemology, application and instruction of qualitative and mixed methods research across disciplines.
Amy Burnett, history, received a fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Fellowships are given to individuals who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts. With the fellowship, Burnett will further her research analyzing correspondence among European humanists, pastors and teachers during the Reformation. Burnett was among 175 fellows selected this year from more than 3,000 applicants.
Raymond Hames, anthropology, was elected to the National Academy of Sciences. Membership in the NAS, a recognition of distinguished and continuing achievements in original research, is one of the highest distinctions for a scientist or engineer in the United States. Hames, an international authority on the lives of indigenous peoples of the Venezuelan Amazon, focuses his anthropological research on behavioral ecology. Hames is the fourth Nebraska researcher to earn the honor and the first since 2003.
Cody Hollist, child, youth and family studies, received a Fulbright Scholar Award to study how factors like substance use, trauma, family dynamics and now, the COVID-19 pandemic, contribute to suicide and self harm in Brazil. Collaborating with researchers at the Federal University of São Paulo, he will use the data he collects to develop interventions aimed at decreasing suicide and self harm. He’ll also teach undergraduate and graduate students during his Fulbright term, scheduled for January to May 2021.
Amit Jhala, agronomy and horticulture and Nebraska Extension, received the Early Career Outstanding Extension Leadership Award from Nebraska’s Alpha Upsilon Chapter of Epsilon Sigma Phi. The award recognizes individuals in Nebraska Extension with fewer than 10 years of service who have demonstrated innovative approaches to delivering Extension programs. Jhala focuses his research on the pollen-mediated gene flow and management of herbicide-resistant weeds.
Lydiah Kiramba, teaching, learning and teacher education, received the 2020 Carlos J. Vallejo Memorial Award for Emerging Scholarship from the American Educational Research Association. The award, sponsored by AERA’s multicultural/multiethnic special interest group, honors an advanced doctoral student or assistant professor whose scholarly contributions are poised to contribute to scholarship in the field of multicultural and multiethnic education. Kiramba studies home, school and society intersections, with a focus on multilingual students of immigrant and refugee backgrounds in the U.S.
Brian Larkins, emeritus associate vice chancellor and plant pathologist, received the Charles Reid Barnes Life Membership Award from the American Society of Plant Biologists. The award honors meritorious work in plant biology and provides life membership in ASPB to an individual who is at least 60 years old. Larkins was honored for his extensive work in maize seed development and protein assembly processes; his contributions to the profession; his mentorship of students and junior faculty; and the friendship and camaraderie he established with colleagues.
Amanda Morales, teaching, learning and teacher education, received the 2020 Latina/o/x Research Issues Special Interest Group Early Career Scholar Award from the American Educational Research Association. The award recognizes early career scholars who have conducted outstanding research on Latina/o/x issues in education. Morales’ research focuses on issues of equity and access for minoritized students across the PK-16 education continuum.
Kendra Ordia, architecture, was selected for the 2020 Ones to Watch list sponsored by the American Society of Interior Designers. The list recognizes rising leaders in the interior design industry who demonstrate exceptional leadership potential and a willingness to push the boundaries of the profession. Ordia was the only instructor from higher education to be named to the 2020 list.
Charles Shapiro, agronomy and horticulture (emeritus), was named a Soil Science Society of America Fellow. This is the society’s highest recognition, with members nominating colleagues based on professional achievement and meritorious service. During his time at the university, Shapiro worked in the Haskell Agricultural Laboratory and focused on improving the efficiency of corn and soybean growth through improved nutrient efficiency.
Ash Smith, emerging media arts, was featured in Variety’s 2020 Entertainment Education Impact Report, which spotlights the top film schools and educators worldwide. Smith, who is part of the Johnny Carson Center for Emerging Media Arts, is a speculative artist, designer and researcher who creates stories for film, stage and immersive play. As an educator, she focuses on filmmaking and storytelling on new platforms.
Isabel Velázquez, modern languages and literatures, earned a Fulbright Scholar Award to teach and conduct research at the Universidade de Campinas, one of Brazil’s premier research universities. Her work will focus on the sociolinguistic experience and perceptions of and about speakers of Venezuelan Spanish, recently settled in the non-metropolitan region of São Paulo. Her tenure is scheduled for the fall 2020 semester.
Professional Involvement
Toni Anaya, University Libraries, was elected to the Association of College and Research Libraries board of directors as director at large. She begins her four-year term July 1.
Kristen Blankley, law, presented a free webinar on April 17 through the Nebraska Mediation Association on how to transition a mediation practice online. The webinar included practical tips and ethical considerations of online practice.
Molly Brummond, assistant dean for external relations and strategic initiatives in the College of Law, was selected to serve on the editorial board of the Women Lawyers Journal, a quarterly publication of the National Association of Women Lawyers. The journal provides a forum for NAWL members to exchange ideas and information, and is a catalyst for collaboration for women lawyers nation- and worldwide.
Other News
Mark Balschweid was reappointed head of the Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication for a five-year term. He has served as department head since 2008 and is also an ALEC professor and, since July 2019, interim executive director of the Rural Futures Institute. Balschweid has research expertise in the intersection of science and agriculture in the secondary classroom.
Rick Bevins, psychology, and Trey Andrews, psychology and ethnic studies, were named director and assistant director, respectively, of Nebraska’s Minority Health Disparities Initiative. MHDI is a universitywide interdisciplinary research initiative that provides Nebraska faculty with an infrastructure for conducting innovative research to improve the health status of vulnerable populations and expand the participation of minorities in health research and education. The initiative’s former director, Kirk Dombrowski, accepted a position as vice president for research at the University of Vermont, effective April 1.
Larry Gossen has been selected as the next dean of the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture in Curtis, Nebraska. Gossen has both classroom and administrative experience, having taught high school for 24 years in Kansas and serving in various roles for the National Future Farmers of America organization. Most recently, he was Nebraska’s state FFA adviser. Gossen has a doctorate in curriculum and instruction from Kansas State University. He succeeds Ron Rosati, who retired in August 2019. Kelly Bruns, director of the West Central Research and Extension Center in North Platte, has served as interim dean. Gossen begins the position June 15.
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