2022-23 Faculty Year-End Excellence Award Recipients

The Warren I. Susman Award for Excellence in Teaching

Honors the memory of the noted historian and Rutgers University professor, Warren I. Susman. This award is given annually to tenured faculty members in recognition of outstanding service in stimulating and guiding the intellectual development of students at Rutgers University.

Alice Elliott Dark, Associate Professor, Department of English, MFA Program in Creative Writing, School of Arts and Sciences–Newark, Rutgers University–Newark 

Gary A. Heiman, Professor, Vice Chair, and Undergraduate Director, Department of Genetics, Division of Life Sciences, School of Arts and Sciences, Rutgers University–New Brunswick 

The Board of Trustees Research Fellowship for Scholarly Excellence

The award recognizes the exceptional research accomplishments of newly-promoted and tenured (as of July 1, 2023) faculty members.

Qiyang Han, Associate Professor, Department of Statistics, School of Arts and Sciences, Rutgers University–New Brunswick

Shawnika Hull, Associate Professor, Department of Communication, School of Communication and Information, Rutgers University–New Brunswick

Nathan W. Link, Associate Professor and Graduate Program Director, Department of Sociology, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Rutgers University–Camden

Bhargav Peruvemba Narayanan, Associate Professor, Department of Mathematics, School of Arts and Sciences, Rutgers University–New Brunswick

Anastasiia Tsvietkova, Associate Professor, Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, School of Arts and Sciences–Newark, Rutgers University–Newark

The Presidential Fellowship for Teaching Excellence

The award honors newly-promoted and tenured (as of July 1, 2023) faculty members who have made truly outstanding contributions to teaching during their early years at Rutgers.

Carla Cevasco, Associate Professor and Director of the American Studies Undergraduate Certificate in Curation and Cultural Programming, Department of American Studies, School of Arts and Sciences, Rutgers University–New Brunswick

Adam Gormley, Associate Professor and Graduate Admissions Co-Director, Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Engineering, Rutgers University–New Brunswick

Lauren L. Kelly, Associate Professor, Department of Learning and Teaching, Graduate School of Education, Rutgers University–New Brunswick

Evan Kleiman, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, School of Arts and Sciences, Rutgers University–New Brunswick

Matthew R. Newman, Associate Professor and County Extension Department Head, Department of 4-H Youth Development, New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Monmouth County, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, Rutgers University–New Brunswick

The Presidential Outstanding Faculty Scholar Award

The award honors tenured faculty members whose breadth of academic portfolios reflect outstanding research, scholarship, or creative work, as well as truly outstanding contributions to teaching along with extensive service to the Rutgers community and beyond.

Grace D. Brannigan, Associate Professor and Director of the Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Department of Physics, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Rutgers University–Camden

Mehdi Javanmard, Associate Professor and Paul S. and Mary W. Monroe Endowed Faculty Scholar, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, School of Engineering, Rutgers University–New Brunswick

David S. Kurnick, Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies, Department of English, School of Arts and Sciences, Rutgers University–New Brunswick

Zhiping Pang, Associate Professor and Director of the Human Neuron Functional Analysis Core, Child Health Institute of New Jersey, Department of Neuroscience and Cell Biology, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences

Ashaki Rouff, Associate Professor and Associate Director of the P3 Collaboratory, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, School of Arts and Sciences–Newark, Rutgers University–Newark

Erin Vogel, Associate Professor and Director of the Center for Human Evolutionary Studies, Department of Anthropology, School of Arts and Sciences, Rutgers University–New Brunswick

The Board of Trustees Award for Excellence in Research

The award honors tenured faculty members who have made distinguished research contributions to their discipline and/or society at large.

Vijayalakshmi Atluri, Professor and Director of the Master of Information Technology and Analytics, Department of Management Science and Information Systems, Rutgers Business School–Newark and New Brunswick, Rutgers University–Newark

Cristine D. Delnevo, Professor and Founding Director of the Rutgers Center for Tobacco Studies, Department of Health Behavior, Society, and Policy, School of Public Health, Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences

Peng Jiang, Associate Professor, Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Division of Life Sciences, School of Arts and Sciences, Rutgers University–New Brunswick

The Faculty Scholar-Teacher Award

The award honors tenured faculty members who have made outstanding synergistic contributions in research and teaching. This award recognizes those who make visible the vital link between teaching and scholarship by contributing to the scholarship of teaching and by bringing together scholarly and classroom activities.

Grace K. Saba, Associate Professor, Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, Rutgers University–New Brunswick

The Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching

The award honors non-tenure-track, full-time faculty members who have demonstrated outstanding teaching skills in classroom instruction, clinical instruction, curriculum development, or mentoring.

Patricia O’Brien-Richardson, Associate Teaching Professor and Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, Rutgers University–New Brunswick

Pamela M. Rothpletz-Puglia, Associate Teaching Professor and Program Director, Department of Interdisciplinary Studies, School of Health Professions, Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences

Igor Rybinnik, Associate Professor of Professional Practice, Department of Neurology, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences

The Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching by a Lecturer

The award honors part-time lecturers (PTLs) or adjunct faculty from any discipline who have demonstrated excellence in classroom instruction. Important attributes for consideration include exceptional creativity and/or curricular, pedagogical, or experiential innovations; a deep commitment to excellence in classroom instruction; and demonstrable contributions to student learning and advancement. This award especially recognizes the longer-term institutional impacts that exceptional PTLs may have on strengthening the academic fabric and vitality of programs through their successive teaching at the university over multiple years.

Steven Elliott, Part Time Lecturer II, Department of History, School of Arts and Sciences–Newark, Rutgers University–Newark

John A. Kerrigan, Part Time Lecturer III, Department of Mathematics, School of Arts and Sciences, Rutgers University–New Brunswick

The Rutgers College Class of 1962 Presidential Public Service Award

The award is funded by the Class of 1962 of Rutgers College and honors members of the faculty, student body, or staff in recognition of distinguished and non-compensated service to government bodies, professional or scholarly organizations, and/or the general public, such as voluntary community leadership, or personal acts of heroism.

Leslie M. Kantor, Professor and Chair, Department of Urban-Global Public Health, School of Public Health, Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences

The Rutgers College Class of 1930 Ernest E. McMahon Award

The award is funded by the Class of 1930 of Rutgers College. The award is named in honor of Ernest E. McMahon (RC '30) who was a dean of University College, dean of the University Extension Division, and director of the Institute of Management and Labor Relations, and who demonstrated a commitment to extending the mission of Rutgers to new populations. In the spirit of Ernest McMahon, this award is given to an individual or a group within Rutgers University that has made a significant and creative contribution to the extension of the educational resources of the university to the people of New Jersey through such means as continuing education or extramural programs.

Andrew K. Vershon, Professor, Waksman Institute of Microbiology, Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Division of Life Sciences, School of Arts and Sciences, Rutgers University–New Brunswick