Faculty and Staff Awards: Northern Kentucky University, Greater Cincinnati Region

Congratulations to NKU's 2024 Faculty and Staff Award Winners!

Frank Sinton Milburn Oustanding Professor

Julie Olberding

Department of Political Science, Criminal Justice, and Organizational Leadership

“Dr. Olberding has so effectively executed her career that the lines between teaching, service, and scholarship are blurred. She encourages and facilitates student service to the community by incorporating philanthropy into her courses and by mentoring other faculty. Dr. Olberding’s scholarship, pedagogy, and service have the same focus at their core: solving problems in the community through engagement and philanthropy. Dr. Olberding’s impact on her discipline will be long-lived through her research, her service to others, and her dedication to her students.”

Jane Meier Outstanding Staff Service

Carolyn Noe

Institute for Health Innovations

“More than just showing up and doing her job, she is a leader on campus and in the community, and she is dedicated to lifting up those around her, especially women and the underserved. Carolyn is creative, dedicated, and talented. She’s also just a great human being and a good and humble leader. I know of no one more deserving of this award.”

Missy Gish

Department of Political Science, Criminal Justice, and Organizational Leadership

“Missy is in her 19th year of service at NKU, and she has contributed significantly to our university in terms of our mission, values, activities, and outcomes, especially related to student success and community engagement. Missy has enhanced the culture of excellence in our MPA program and our department by always providing high-quality services including student recruitment, student advising, event management, and more.”

Tiffany Mayse

Student Wellness

“The connections that Tiffany has forged with the students she works with is unmatched,” said her nominator. “She has served as their educator, advisor, mentor, and confidant. For this reason, she has a huge network of both current students and alumni who continue to seek her support and guidance in their lives. And, as a result of Tiffany’s mentorship, many alumni themselves have entered the field of Student Affairs so that they can impact others like she impacted them.”

Michael C.C. Adams & Susan S. Adams Oustanding Non-Tenure Track Faculty Member

Shannon Eastep

Department of Teacher Preparation and Educational Studies

“Professor Eastep isn’t only a teacher; she is a true mentor to her students and colleagues…She is committed to lifelong learning and fosters it within her students. She is always going above and beyond for those around her, and her impact ripples throughout the College of Education.” I will add that Shannon’s impact expand through the entire university and most of you know because you have seen it.

Excellence in Teaching & Instruction

Allison Parker

Department of Biological Sciences

“Dr. Parker's unwavering dedication to students and exceptional teaching abilities make her a deserving candidate for this prestigious recognition. In her five years at Northern Kentucky, Dr. Parker has already made remarkable contributions to student learning. Her diverse teaching portfolio spans introductory biology, ecology, environmental science, public health honors courses and study abroad in Costa Rica and reflects her commitment to engaging students across disciplines and spanning various levels of complexity.” I will add that you must ask Allison about the Patient Zero project in her honors class, which is the epitome of high impact teaching that gets students excited to learn.

David Thompson

Department of Biological Sciences

David has transformed core courses for students and reduced DFW rates significantly, but I want to share his colleague’s words about the BIO 150 GenEd class that he teaches, “At the end of the semester, he asks students to use the tune of a popular song and write new lyrics that relate to content from class. Then on the last day of class he picks several of the best parodies and performs them for the class, singing and playing his guitar. I had one student tell me that it was this activity that made her realize that creativity is an important part of science! While having fun, the students are reviewing important material and exercising their critical thinking skills when writing their songs.”

Laura Urbanski

Department of Mathematics & Statistics

“For some, mathematical concepts have been an Achilles’ heel, and they bring the mindset of “I’m just not a math person” into the classroom. Professor Urbanski works to dispel that myth. Her course syllabi prominently feature this phrase: Math is a skill that everyone can learn. Learning takes time and effort. From the onset of the course, she works to instill in her students a growth mindset, particularly when it comes to mathematics, in hopes of dispelling the negative mindset created over years of previous quantitative coursework.”

Excellence in Research/Creative Activity Mentoring

Patrick Hare

Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry

“Since his arrival, Patrick has mentored 59 undergraduates in his research group and nearly half of them are from underrepresented groups in STEM. What is perhaps more remarkable is that as a physical chemist, most students would not be able to be introduced to the science that surrounds his work until their senior year. However, Patrick has found a way to make his projects accessible for students starting in their first semester. Since his arrival at NKU Patrick has co-authored 6 peer-reviewed journal articles with 32 NKU undergraduates.”

Excellence in Research, Scholarship & Creative Activity

David Tataw

School of Allied Health

“He is a prolific researcher, having 43 peer- review journal publications, 11 of which were published in this past year. Dr. Tataw’s research is impactful to multiple communities given the circumstances in today’s society related to post-pandemic recovering, and high demands for continuing healthcare workers.”

Nicholas Caporusso

School of Computing and Analytics

“Dr. Caporusso specializes in software engineering, human-computer interaction, and applied generative AI, and his contributions in these realms have been truly exceptional. His research productivity encompasses over 70 peer-reviewed papers in esteemed journals and conferences. A true renaissance person (a painter and a poet), he embodies NKU's transdisciplinary vision at his best: researchers who are not content just to publish in specialized journals and conference proceedings, but who want to share their work with the wider world.”

Excellence in Career and Professional Preparation

Rebecca Bailey

Department of History and Geography

“Dr. Bailey focuses on not just making history come alive for her students – she also connects that history to the practical side of career development… Each assignment has a purpose and gives her students something they can put on a resume. Because of her guidance, I have a job at a museum as the social media coordinator before I even graduate from my bachelor's program!”

Excellence in University Service

Jaesook Gilbert

Department of Educational Leadership and Advanced Studies

“Dr. Gilbert's extensive service involvement spans university governance, regional initiatives, and statewide committees, exemplifying her dedication to fostering university-school-community partnerships and advancing early childhood education at local and state levels. Her instrumental role in securing grant funding and facilitating collaborative efforts further underscores her remarkable service record and contributions to NKU's strategic goals.”

Dr. Leon E. Boothe Inclusive Excellence

Melissa Jones

Department of Educational Leadership and Advanced Studies

“Dr. Jones is truly a model of Inclusive Excellence,” said her nominator. “In my decades of experience as an educator, I have never known anyone to so thoroughly embrace, support, value, model, and champion Inclusive Excellence like Dr. Jones.”

LaVette Burnette

Center for Student Inclusiveness

“Dr. Burnette’s leadership advancing inclusive excellence is demonstrated daily in her programming, fierce advocacy, and affirming interactions with NKU students. There has not been one day where I have not witnessed Dr. Burnette living her work and impacting students’ lives.”

OUTSTANDING STUDENT AFFAIRS NEWCOMER

D'ominique Elie

Counseling Services

“D’ominique is passionate about mental health counseling, has made lasting impressions on students and staff, and consistently leads by example. I have been able to witness her passion for helping others, her focus on continuous improvement of the services and pathways for support Counseling Services provides students holding minoritized identities, and her energy creates positive impact for colleagues and NKU learners.”

Faculty and Staff Award Nominees

Congratulations to all of the faculty and staff nominated for awards this year. All are deserving of recognition!

Allison Parker

Allyson Graf

Amy Clark

Amy Halbrook

Ankur Chattopadhyay

Anna Stryker

Annie Welch

Anthony Burk

Anthony Chavez

Ben Huber

Bill Boyce

Brandelyn Tosolt

Brittany Combs

Carolyn Noe

Chris Tambling

Colin Mong

Crystal Summers

Danielle Lewis

Dave Thompson

David Randy Brandt

David Childs

David Evans

David Tataw

Debra Meyers

D’ominique Elie

Emily Wright

Gregory Hatchett

Jack Harrison

Jaesook Gilbert

James O’Bannon

Jason Farkas

Jason White

Javance Sinclair

Jennifer Gardner

Jennifer Kaiser

Jennifer Kinsley

Jenny Young

Joe Nolan

John Gibson

Josh Cooper

Joshua Maier

Judy Voelker

Julie Olberding

Justin Yates

Kaitlyn Cappel

Kathleen Quinn

Katie Terhune

Kelly Smith

Kendra Massey

Kevin Eagles

Kim Yates

Laura Urbanski

LaVette Burnette

Leah Koch

Lynnissa Hillman

Mahdi Yazdanpour

Mary Schilling

Maureen Doyle

Mehmet Sulu

Melissa Hess

Melissa Jones

Michael DiCicco

Missy Gish

Nicholas Caporusso

Patrick Hare

Patrick Schultheis

Paul Tenkotte

Rebecca Bailey

Richard Durtsche

Robert Brice

Sam Lenzi

Sandra Spataro

Sara Conwell

Shanda Harris

Shannon Eastep

Sharlene Graham

Sydney Humphrey

Terkerah Washington

Terrance Anderson

Tiffany Mayse

Tonya Krouse

Tracy Kaeff

Tracy Songer

Vickie Hugo

Yangyang Tao

Zeel Maheshwari

2024 Faculty and Staff Awards

FACULTY AND STAFF AWARDS

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