Honors Convocation and Academic Excellence Awards
Thursday, April 11, 2024, at 6:30 p.m. in the Cajundome
Download the Honors Convocation and Academic Excellence Awards program.
Relive the Spring 2024 Honors Convocation
UL Spring 2024 Honors Convocation (April 11) from CAJUNDOME on Vimeo.
View the Spring 2024 Honors Convocation Photo Gallery
Eminent Faculty Award
The Eminent Faculty Awards is a tradition of recognizing excellence. The Eminent Faculty program serves as the highest-level University recognition program honoring five faculty members for their outstanding efforts in teaching, research, and service-learning outreach.
Distinguished Professor Award | Leadership Service Award | Dr. Ray P. Authement Excellence in Teaching Award | ||
Dr. Terrence Chambers Donald and Janice Mosing BORSF Endowed Chair Mechanical Engineering College of Engineering | W. Geoff Gjertson Professor of Architecture School of Architecture and Design College of the Arts | Scott Durbin Drs. Chuck and Sue Lein/BORSF Endowed Professorship in Music Business College of the Arts | Dr. August Gallo Professor & Researcher Department of Chemistry Ray P. Authement College of Sciences | Marissa Lajaunie Senior Instructor Department of Health Sciences College of Nursing & Health Sciences |
Recognition of Faculty
Faculty throughout the University receive recognition for their exceptional accomplishments through various venues at the college, University, and professional levels. Three faculty members from each college are being recognized for their excellence. These faculty representatives have already received college-level awards or recognition during the 2022-23 academic year and they serve as representatives of excellence in the areas of scholarship/creativity, teaching, service, and/or other criteria identified within the college.
College of Education and Human Development
Dr. Heather Stone
Department of Educational Curriculum & Instruction
Early Career Research Fellowship for the Gulf Research Program of the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine
Dr. Peter Sheppard
Department of Educational Curriculum & Instruction
Collaborative Professional Learning Partnership Project Grant with the LA Department of Education (2023-2024)
Dr. Jeremy Foreman
School of Kinesiology
2023 International Journal of Sport Management’s Outstanding Reviewer Award
College of Liberal Arts
Dr. Carl Richard
Department of History, Geography, & Philosophy
Research Excellence Award
Dr. Henk Rossouw
Department of English
Outstanding Doctoral Student Mentor
Dr. Ian Beamish
Department of History, Geography, & Philosophy
Outstanding Undergraduate Research Mentor
College of Engineering
Dr. Terry Chambers
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Research Excellence Award
Dr. Ling Fei
Department of Chemical Engineering
Rising Star Award
Dr. Paul Darby
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Outstanding Undergraduate Research Mentor Award
College of Nursing and Health Sciences
Master Instructor Phoebe Henderson
Department of Nursing
Piccione Faculty Award for Teaching Excellence
Dr. Anita Hazelwood
Department of Health Sciences
Piccione Faculty Award for Teaching Excellence
Dr. Robin Beacom
Department of Nursing
The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurse Educators
B. I. Moody III College of Business Administration
Dr. Colleen Wolverton
Department of Management
Colonels Philip & Jean Piccione Research Excellence
Dr. Geoffrey Stewart
Department of Marketing
Colonels Philip & Jean Piccione Research Excellence
Dr. Javier Portillo
Department of Economics & Finance
Faculty Service Award
Ray P. Authement College of Sciences
Dr. Beth Stauffer
Department of Biology
Distinguished Professor Award Nominee
Dr. Gus Gallo
Department of Chemistry
Ray P. Authement Excellence in Teaching Award
Dr. Gabriele Morra
Department of Physics
Distinguished Professor Award Nominee
College of the Arts
Professor Jamie Baldridge
Department of Visual Arts
Distinguished Professor Award Nominee
Associate Professor Dan DiCaprio
Department of Visual Arts
Ray P. Authement Excellence in Teaching Award Nominee
Associate Professor Kevin Hagan
Department of Visual Arts
Leadership Service Award Nominee
Outstanding Master’s Mentor Award
Recognizing that strong mentorship and advising is an essential component of strong graduate programs, the Graduate School at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette presents the Outstanding Master’s Mentor Award to members of the Graduate Faculty with an exceptional record of fostering the academic and professional development of graduate students, particularly for graduate students in a master’s degree program.
Dr. Lauren Auverset van Gerwen
Department of Communications
College of Liberal Arts
Dr. Wesley Bradford
School of Music
College of the Arts
Dr. Seonhee Jang
Department of Mechanical Engineering
College of Engineering
Dr. Davide Oppo
School of Geosciences Ray P. Authement
College of Sciences
Undergraduate Faculty Advisor Awardees
Advising plays a critical role in students’ performance, progress, and engagement, while also supporting the University’s retention and graduation efforts. The Outstanding Faculty Advisor Awards are intended to recognize those with exemplary advising practices, demonstrating their commitment to student success and fostering the academic and career goals of their advisees. The awards annually recognize five faculty advisors who demonstrate their commitment to quality student development and engagement through advising.
Dr. Laura G. Latiolais
Department of Accounting
B.I. Moody III College of Business Administration
Dr. Leigh M. Tolley
Department of Educational Curriculum & Instruction
College of Education and Human Development
Ashley P. Mikolajczyk, P.E.
Department of Chemical Engineering
College of Engineering
Dr. Christie M. Charles
Department of Psychology
College of Liberal Arts
Dr. Bruce E. Felgenhauer
Department of Biology
Ray P. Authement College of Sciences
Student Excellence Awards
Graduate Student Teaching Awards
Graduate Student Teaching Excellence Award
Over the course of their graduate career, many graduate students are required to take on teaching responsibilities. These graduate teaching assistants contribute much to our University teaching mission. The Graduate Student Teaching Excellence is designed to recognize and reward a graduate teaching assistant (GTA) who has served as an instructor of record for outstanding teaching and effective instruction.
Justin Dunnam
Ph.D. student in Mathematics
Department of Math, Ray P. Authement College of Sciences
Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Award
Graduate teaching assistants play a vital role in fulfilling the undergraduate teaching mission of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. This award recognizes the best, brightest and most industrious of our graduate teaching assistants for their work supporting faculty members in the classroom.
Tasnima Supty
M.S. student in Biology
Department of Biology, Ray P. Authement College of Sciences
Rising Scholars Award
This award recognizes an undergraduate student who demonstrates excellence in their discipline and clearly shows potential to rise to scholarly recognition. This undergraduate student has garnered the attention of faculty and administration as an emerging student on the path as a student scholar who will impact the larger research/academic/professional community.
College of Education and Human Development
Abbey Poirier (Junior)
Department of Educational Curriculum and Instruction
College of Liberal Arts
Liliana Therese Pagan (Junior)
Department of English
College of Engineering
Renee Ward (Junior)
Department of Chemical Engineering
College of Nursing and Health Sciences
Micah Sorrell (Junior)
Department of Nursing
B. I. Moody III College of Business Administration
Sydnee Johnson (Junior)
Department of Accounting
Ray P. Authement College of Sciences
Ethan Adams (Sophomore)
Department of Biology
University College
Hannah Daigle (Junior)
Bachelor of General Studies
College of the Arts
Megan Ivey (Junior)
School of Architecture and Design
Leaf Award
The Leaf Award celebrates students who have achieved excellence while completing a Student Research Experience (SRE) or disseminating information about a SRE they have worked on. The Advance Student Research Experience (ASRE) Program at UL Lafayette defines a SRE as a sustained effort by a student to apply subject knowledge, skills, and abilities to a project that is valued by the discipline. The Student Center for Research, Creativity, and Scholarship (SCRCS) houses the ASRE program, which supports the increase of undergraduate students’ productivity and success through engagement in research, innovative projects, and creative endeavors.
Read more about the 2024 Leaf Awards.
UL Academic Summit
See the UL Lafayette representatives for the 2024 UL Academic Summit.