Faculty honored at 2022 University Excellence Awards ceremony

Outstanding faculty members from across the university were recognized in late April for their dedication and significant achievements in the areas of teaching, research, scholarship, service and outreach during UTSA’s annual University Excellence Awards ceremony.

This year’s faculty award selection committees reviewed more than 100 nominations across the award categories. Congratulations to all of the nominees and the following 2022 recipients!

President’s Distinguished Achievement Awards

Advancing Globalization

• Nicolas Large, Assistant Professor, Physics & Astronomy

Community Engagement

• Neda Norouzi, Assistant Professor, Architecture

Core Curriculum Teaching

• Rebecca Schroeder, Associate Professor of Instruction, University College

Faculty Mentoring

• Johnelle Sparks, Professor, Demography

Innovation and Impact (I-Squared)

Explore STEM @ UTSA Team

• Wei Wang, Assistant Professor, Computer Science (team lead)
• Kathy Ewoldt, Assistant Professor, Interdisciplinary Learning and Teaching
• Mimi Xie, Assistant Professor, Computer Science
• Alberto Mestas-Nunez, Associate Professor of Instruction, Earth and Planetary Sciences

Performance, Creative Production or Other Scholarly Achievement

• Tracy Cowden, K. Blumberg Endowed Professor and Department Chair, Music

Research

• Thomas G. Forsthuber, Jesse H. and Mary Gibbs Jones Endowed Chair in Biotechnology and Professor, Molecular Microbiology and Immunology
• Sandra B. Morissette, Professor and Department Chair, Psychology
• Miltos Alamaniotis, Assistant Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering
• Willie J. Hale, Assistant Professor, Psychology

Teaching Excellence

• Isabel Muzzio, Professor, Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology
• Jelena Todic, Assistant Professor, Social Work
• Eddie Hernandez, Assistant Professor of Instruction, Integrative Biology and Honors College

University Service

• Sara Oswalt, Professor and Department Chair, Public Health

Richard S. Howe Excellence in Teaching Award

• M. Kathryn Brown, Lutcher Brown Endowed Professor, Anthropology

Richard S. Howe Excellence in Service to Undergraduate Students Award

• Gail Taylor, Lecturer, Honors College and Associate Program Director, RISE and MARC programs

President’s Distinguished Diversity Award

• Neda Norouzi, Assistant Professor, Architecture

In addition, five faculty members were recognized as part of the La Raza Faculty, Staff and Administrators Association, the faculty-staff group awarded a President’s Distinguished Diversity Award:

• Sonya Aleman, Associate Professor, Race, Ethnicity, Gender and Sexuality Studies
• Rachel Cruz, Assistant Professor, Race, Ethnicity, Gender and Sexuality Studies
• Mario Flores, Assistant Professor, Eelctrical and Computer Engineering
• Syvia Mendoza, Assistant Professor, Race, Ethnicity, Gender and Sexuality Studies
• Omar Valerio-Jimenez, Associate Professor, History

• Watch the 2022 University Excellence Awards ceremony recording to learn more about each of the recipients
• Learn more about these and other faculty award opportunities at the UTSA Faculty Awards website.