The University of Arkansas at Little Rock will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Faculty Excellence Awards by honoring 17 of its top faculty members at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 11, in the College of Engineering and Information Technology Auditorium. 

Since 1989, when the first award was given, the event has provided a way to recognize the great work of UA Little Rock faculty and is made possible through the valued contributions of the Office of the Chancellor, the Office of the Provost, and the UA Little Rock Chancellor’s Circle.

A panel of external judges will review the achievements of the college-level winners and select the university-wide winners in the categories of teaching, research, and public service. The three university-wide winners will each receive a cash prize of $5,000.

The event is free and open to the public. A reception will follow the awards ceremony in the Engineering and Information Technology Building lobby. For more information, contact the UA Little Rock Office of the Provost at 501-569-3204.

The following is a list of college-level winners:

Public Service

• Avinash Thombre, professor of applied communication, College of Social Sciences and Communication
• Linda Holzer, professor of music, College of Arts, Letters and Sciences
• Beth McMillan, professor and chair of the Department of Earth Sciences, George W. Donaghey College of Engineering and Information Technology
• Alicia Mitchell, visiting assistant professor of law and director of the Low Income Taxpayer Clinic, William H. Bowen School of Law
• Clifford Franklin, associate professor of audiology and speech pathology and research integrity officer, College of Education and Health Professions

Research/Creative Endeavors

• Tusty ten Bensel, associate professor of criminal justice and graduate coordinator, College of Social Sciences and Communication
• Mariya Khodakovskaya, professor of biology and interim associate dean, College of Arts, Letters and Sciences
  
• Mary Yang, associate professor of information science, George W. Donaghey College of Engineering and Information Technology
• J. Lyn Entrikin, Charles Baum Distinguished Professor of Law, William H. Bowen School of Law
• Bronwyn MacFarlane, professor of gifted education, College of Education and Health Professions
• Guarav Kumar, professor of accounting, College of Business

Teaching

• Cheryl Johnston, senior instructor of applied communication, College of Social Sciences and Communication
• Naoki Hakutani, associate professor of music, College of Arts, Letters and Sciences
• Jin Wook Lee, assistant professor of systems engineering, George W. Donaghey College of Engineering and Information Technology
• Lindsey Gustafson, professor of law, William H. Bowen School of Law
• Jeffrey Carmack, associate professor of nursing, College of Education and Health Professions
• Ahmad Naeem Bajwa, assistant professor of management, College of Business