2021-2022 Faculty Year-End Excellence Award Recipients

President Jonathan Holloway and Prabhas Moghe, executive vice president for academic affairs, recently presented the Faculty Year-End Excellence Awards for 2021-2022 at the first in-person ceremony in two years. These awards recognize the achievements of educators at Rutgers in every stage of their careers for the work they do guiding the intellectual development of students, for their exceptional research accomplishments, and for the difference they make in the community.

“This is a moment about expressing our pride in you and this is the moment we get to say thank you,’’ Holloway said. “Thank you for your dedication to excellence and thank you for your commitment to your students. Thank you for your keen insight into your exemplary research and thank you for helping Rutgers change the world for the better. Thank you for all of this.’’

The awards recognize 31 outstanding members of the Rutgers community selected by their colleagues for exceptional contributions to teaching, research, or public service. For each award category, the recipients receive a commemorative certificate and an honorarium. 

This year, the awards include a new category, the Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching by a Part-Time Lecturer to honor part-time lecturers (PTLs) or adjunct faculty from any discipline who have demonstrated excellence in classroom instruction.

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.

Mayte Green-Mercado, Associate Professor, Department of History, School of Arts and Sciences–Newark, Rutgers University–Newark

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, 2022) faculty members.

Angelica Lorena Gonzalez Gajardo, Associate Professor, Department of Biology, Faculty of Arts and Sciences–Camden, Rutgers University–Camden

Jedediah H. Pixley, Associate Professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy, School of Arts and Sciences, Rutgers University–New Brunswick

Harini Sampath, Associate Professor, Department of Nutritional Sciences, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, Rutgers University–New Brunswick

Chung-Tse Michael Wu, Associate Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, School of Engineering, Rutgers University–New Brunswick

Desheng Zhang, Associate Professor, Department of Computer Science, School of Arts and Sciences, Rutgers University–New Brunswick

The Presidential Fellowship for Teaching Excellence

The award honors newly-promoted and tenured (as of July 1, 2022) faculty members who have made truly outstanding contributions to teaching during their early years at Rutgers.

Kasia M. Bieszczad, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Behavioral and Systems Neuroscience, School of Arts and Sciences, Rutgers University–New Brunswick

Joseph V. Casillas, Associate Professor, Department of Spanish and Portuguese, School of Arts and Sciences, Rutgers University–New Brunswick

Christopher E. Ellison, Associate Professor, Department of Genetics, Division of Life Sciences, School of Arts and Sciences, Rutgers University–New Brunswick

Antonina Mitrofanova, Associate Professor, Department of Health and Biomedical Informatics, School of Health Professions, Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences

Brandon L. Williams, Associate Professor, Department of Music, Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University–New Brunswick

The Presidential Outstanding Faculty Scholar Award

The award honors newly-promoted full professors (as of July 1, 2022) 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.

Waheed Uz Zaman Bajwa, Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, School of Engineering, Rutgers University–New Brunswick

Nan Gao, Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, School of Arts and Sciences–Newark, Rutgers University–Newark

Tao Jiang, Professor and Chair, Department of Religion, and Director, Rutgers Center for Chinese Studies, School of Arts and Sciences, Rutgers University–New Brunswick

Vanessa LoBue, Professor and Graduate Program Director, Department of Psychology, School of Arts and Sciences–Newark, Rutgers University–Newark

Maurice Wallace, Associate Professor and Associate Chair, Department of English, 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.

Lia Nower, Professor and Director, Center for Gambling Studies and Addiction Counselor Training Program, School of Social Work, Rutgers University–New Brunswick

Linda A. Reddy, Professor, Department of School Psychology, Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology, Rutgers University–New Brunswick

Jaideep S. Vaidya, Professor, Department of Management Science and Information Systems, Rutgers Business School–Newark and New Brunswick, Rutgers University–Newark

Michael P. Verzi, Associate Professor, Department of Genetics, 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.

Kay D. Bidle, Professor, Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, Rutgers University–New Brunswick

Leah DeVun, Associate Professor, Department of History, School of Arts and Sciences, Rutgers University–New Brunswick

Mary Rizzo, Associate Professor, Department of History, School of Arts and Sciences–Newark, Rutgers University–Newark

Itzhak Yanovitzky, Professor, Department of Communication, School of Communication and Information, 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.

Rebecca T. Davis, Associate Professor of Professional Practice and Director, Office of Global Social Work Programs, School of Social Work, Rutgers University–New Brunwick

Andrew G. Kaufman, Professor and Division Chief, Department of Anesthesiology, New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences

Ramona Ross, Teaching Instructor and Assistant Undergraduate Director, Department of Psychology, School of Arts and Sciences–Newark, Rutgers University–Newark

The Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching by a Part-Time 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.

Wahab Ashraf, Part-Time Lecturer II, Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, School of Arts and Sciences–Newark, Rutgers University–Newark

Lance C. Thurner, Part-Time Lecturer, Department of History, School of Arts and Sciences–Newark, Rutgers University–Newark

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.

Rigoberto González, Distinguished Professor and Director, MFA Program in Creative Writing, Department of English, School of Arts and Sciences–Newark, Rutgers University–Newark

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.

Michael B. Steinberg, Professor and Chief, Department of Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine, Vice Chair for Research, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and Director, Rutgers Center for Tobacco Studies, Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences