Faculty & Staff Awards
The dedicated, award-winning faculty and staff at the É«»¨Ìà College of Education drive our success. They’ve earned recognition within the university — and within the field — for excellence in teaching, research, service and support.
College Awards
Each year the College of Education recognizes excellence across our community — from outstanding teaching to collaborative research to exceptional service and support. Awards are typically presented in August to kick off the fall semester.
Current Winners (2025)
Distinguished Career Award
- Julie C. Dunsmore, professor, Department of Psychological, Health, & Learning Sciences
Faculty Research Excellence Award
- Heather M. Dulas, assistant professor, Department of Educational Leadership & Policy Studies
- April Peters-Hawkins, professor, Department of Educational Leadership & Policy Studies
- Virginia Snodgrass Rangel, associate professor, Department of Educational Leadership & Policy Studies
Teaching Excellence Award
- Justin T. Burris, clinical associate professor, Department of Curriculum & Instruction
- Heather M. Dulas, assistant professor, Department of Educational Leadership & Policy Studies
- Miao Li, associate professor, Department of Curriculum & Instruction
Staff Excellence Award
- Cindy Romero, program manager, Department of Psychological, Health, & Learning Sciences
Staff Spirit Award
- Debbie Gary, program coordinator, Department of Educational Leadership & Policy Studies and Department of Psychological, Health, & Learning Sciences
- Emma Morales academic advisor, Office of Student Success
Past College Winners
Collaborative Research Excellence Award
- Keith Butcher, associate professor, Department of Educational Leadership & Policy Studies
- Laveria Hutchison, associate professor, Department of Curriculum & Instruction
- Allison Master, assistant professor, Department of Psychological, Health, & Learning Sciences
- Virginia Snodgrass Rangel, associate professor, Department of Educational Leadership & Policy Studies
Faculty Research Excellence Award
- Blake Allan, associate professor, Department of Psychological, Health, & Learning Sciences
Teaching Excellence Award
- Carrie Cutler, clinical associate professor, Department of Curriculum & Instruction
- Sissy Wong, associate professor, Department of Curriculum & Instruction
Staff Excellence Award
- Kevin Pham, web developer, CITE Lab
Staff Distinguished Service Award
- Miranda Jasso, research administrator, Office of Research
Staff Spirit Award
- Norquezdan Florence, program manager, Department of Educational Leadership & Policy Studies
- Jane Sidwell, academic advisor, Office of Student Success
Collaborative Research Excellence Award
- Jie Zhang, associate professor, Department of Curriculum & Instruction
- Yali Zou, professor, Educational Leadership & Policy Studies; director, Asian American Studies Center
Faculty Research Excellence Award
- Allison Master, assistant professor, Department of Psychological, Health, & Learning Sciences
- Sissy Wong, associate professor, Department of Curriculum & Instruction
Teaching Excellence Award
- Bulent Dogan, clinical associate professor, Department of Curriculum & Instruction
- Alberto J. Rodriguez, distinguished professor, Department of Curriculum & Instruction
Staff Excellence Award
- Kaitlyn Dempsey, program manager, Department of Curriculum & Instruction
- Daniel Pineda, manager of college information services, CITE Lab
Staff Distinguished Service Award
- Velvette Laurence, instructional designer, CITE Lab
Collaborative Research Excellence Award
- Virginia Snodgrass Rangel, assistant professor, Department of Educational Leadership & Policy Studies
Faculty Research Mentoring Award
- Lyle McKinney, associate professor, Department of Educational Leadership & Policy Studies
Teaching Excellence Award
- Tiffany J. Davis, clinical assistant professor, Department of Educational Leadership & Policy Studies
- Allison Master, assistant professor, Department of Psychological, Health, & Learning Sciences
- Kristen Hassett, clinical associate professor, Department of Educational Leadership & Policy Studies
Staff Excellence Award
- Miranda Jasso, research administrator, Office of Research
- Karen Tran, department business administrator, Office of Finance
Staff Distinguished Service Award
- Kevin Pham, web developer, CITE Lab
- Shelley Townsend, program director, Parent Education Project
Staff Spirit Award
- Nkemdilim Ibekwe, administrative assistant, Office of Undergraduate Studies
Collaborative Research Excellence Award
- Lorraine Reitzel, professor, Department of Psychological, Health, & Learning Sciences
Research Excellence Award - Elsa Gonzalez, assistant professor of higher education
Teaching Excellence Award
- Keith Butcher, clinical assistant professor of educational leadership
- April Peters-Hawkins, associate professor of educational leadership
- Virginia Snodgrass Rangel, assistant professor of educational leadership
Staff Excellence Award
- Isabel Martinez Leal, researcher, Department of Psychological, Health, & Learning Sciences
- Lena Mitchell, research administrator, previously in the Office of Research
Staff Distinguished Service Award
- Jeylan Yassin, director, Office of Undergraduate Studies
Staff Spirit Award
- Yonelly Gutiérrez, program manager, previously in the Department of Educational Leadership & Policy Studies
- Oluwasade Orebiyi, academic advisor, previously in the Office of Undergraduate Studies
Collaborative Research Excellence Award
- Ruth López, assistant professor of educational leadership
- Margit Wiesner, associate professor of measurement, quantitative methods and learning sciences
Research Excellence Award
- Rosenda Murillo, associate professor of health
- Virginia Snodgrass Rangel, assistant professor of educational leadership
- Milena Keller-Margulis, associate professor of school psychology
- Margit Wiesner, associate professor of measurement, quantitative methods and learning sciences
Teaching Excellence Award
- Erica Jordan, clinical assistant professor of human development and family studies
- Shawn Kent, assistant professor of special populations
- Ruth López, assistant professor of educational leadership
Staff Excellence Award
- Bridgette Jones, director of student affairs, Office of Graduate Studies
Staff Distinguished Service Award
- Rebecca Perez, program manager, Department of Curriculum & Instruction
Collaborative Research Excellence Award
- Lyle McKinney, associate professor, Educational Leadership & Policy Studies
Teaching Excellence Award
- Carrie Cutler, clinical assistant professor, Curriculum & Instruction
- Marcel de Dios, assistant professor, Psychological, Health, & Learning Sciences
- Kristen Hassett, clinical associate professor, Educational Leadership & Policy Studies
- Lyle McKinney, associate professor, Educational Leadership & Policy Studies
Staff Excellence Award
- Paula Canada, events coordinator
- Thu Nguyen, department business administrator
Staff Spirit Award
- Nicole Switzer, administrative assistant, Psychological, Health, & Learning Sciences