Online tribute honors 2020 faculty and staff

A new website celebrates 2020 recipients of Washington State University’s top honors, bestowed by the president, provost and selected faculty associations.

Traditionally, the university recognizes annual awardees at the Celebrating Excellence Banquet, an elegant affair with a catered dinner followed by an awards ceremony. This year, though, the banquet was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The new web pages are a way of paying tribute to our 2020 honorees, all of whom are exemplary for their scholarly or professional achievements,” said Vice Provost Laura Griner Hill, who co-chairs the Showcase Steering Committee. “I regret that the University was unable to honor these outstanding colleagues in person.”

The site includes a written profile of each awardee, paired with a photo or video. It also recognizes faculty who received promotion and/or tenure in the past year.

“Please take the time to visit the site and congratulate your colleagues,” Hill added.

The new web pages are part of the site for Showcase, WSU’s annual weeklong celebration of academic excellence. They recognize the following awardees:

Sahlin Eminent Faculty Award

• John Browse
  Regents Professor, Institute of Biological Chemistry

Lane Rawlins President’s Award for Distinguished Lifetime Service

• Rodney Croteau
  Regents Professor, Institute of Biological Chemistry

Emeritus Society Legacy of Excellence Award

• Donald Matteson
  Professor Emeritus, Department of Chemistry

Presenter of the Distinguished Faculty Address

• Patricia Hunt
  Meyer Distinguished Professor, School of Molecular Biosciences

Sahlin Faculty Excellence Awards

• Instruction

  • Erika Gudrun Offerdahl
    Associate Professor, School of Molecular Biosciences

• Leadership

  • Stephen Bollens
    Professor, School of Biological Sciences and School of the Environment
    Director, Meyer’s Point Environmental Field Station

• Outreach & engagement

  • Cheryl B. Schultz
    Professor, School of Biological Sciences

• Research, scholarship & arts

  • Gregory W. Yasinitsky
    Regents Professor, Coordinator of Jazz Studies, School of Music

President’s Distinguished Teaching Award for Instructors and Clinical Faculty

• Janet Peters
  Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology
• Chris Dickey
  Clinical Assistant Professor, Music

Faculty Diversity Award

• Gisela Ernst-Slavit
  Professor, College of Education

Association for Faculty Women Samuel H. Smith Leadership Award

• Catherine “Katie” Marguerite Cooper
  Associate Professor, School of the Environment

Innovation and Entrepreneurship Award

• Kim Christen
  Professor and Director, Digital Technology and Culture Program; Director, Center for Digital Scholarship and Curation

Promotion to the rank of Regents Professor

• Katrina L. Mealey
  Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences

President’s Employee Excellence Awards

• Nina Woodford
  Director, Office of the Campus Veterinarian
• Karen Fischer
  Associate Dean of Students
• Sue Sheppard
  Development & Outreach Coordinator, Northwest Public Broadcasting, Edward R. Murrow College of Communication
• Denise Keeton
  Assistant Director of Business Operations, Office of Commercialization
• Kenneth Innami Porter
  Research Technologist II, College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences

 
A list of newly tenured and/or promoted faculty is also available on the Showcase website.