Faculty Affairs

Faculty Awards

The Office of Faculty Affairs assists with the faculty awards programs at CU Denver. Here are the winners of the 2026 awards: 

Campus award winners are highlighted and denoted with an asterisk.

EXCELLENCE IN LEADERSHIP AND SERVICE AWARDS
(Selected by a committee comprising previous award winners)

Instructional/Research/Clinical Faculty
Gisella Bassani, PhD, Business School
Chris Carson, MA, School of Education & Human Development
Kirsten H. Christensen, MURP, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (Geography & Environmental Sciences)
Laurel Hyslop, PhD, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (Psychology)
Jason S. Machado, PhD, School of Public Affairs
Adam H. Spiegler, PhD, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (Mathematical and Statistical Sciences)
Susan Garver Stirrup, MS, College of Engineering, Design and Computing (Civil Engineering and Construction)
* Keith E. Teeter, MLIS, Auraria Library (Research, Learning, and User Services)

Tenured/Tenure-Track Faculty (two campus winners)
* Jorge M. Chavez, PhD, School of Education & Human Development
Jim Grigsby, PhD, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (Psychology)
Jingting Liu, PhD, Business School
Christine Martell, PhD, School of Public Affairs
* Kevin Lee Rens, PhD, College of Engineering, Design and Computing (Civil Engineering and Construction)
Emily E. Speakman, PhD, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (Mathematical and Statistical Sciences)

EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING AWARDS

Instructional/Research/Clinical Faculty
(Selected by a committee comprising previous award winners)

Gisella Bassani, PhD, Business School
* Katherine Goodman, PhD, College of Engineering, Design and Computing (Biomedical  Engineering)
Andrea Laser, EdD, School of Education & Human Development
Paul Le, PhD, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (Integrative Biology)
Robyn Mobbs, PhD, School of Public Affairs
Amanda Ritchie, MS, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (Modern Languages)
Jenny R. Vermilya, PhD, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (Sociology)

Tenured/Tenure-Track Faculty
(Selected by a committee comprising previous award winners)

* Ersin Dincelli, PhD, Business School
Courtney Donovan, PhD, School of Education & Human Development
Storm Gloor, MBA, College of Arts & Media (Music & Entertainment Industry Studies)
Adam M. Lippert, PhD, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (Sociology)
Shuyang Peng, PhD, School of Public Affairs
Farhad Pourkamali Anaraki, PhD, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (Mathematical and Statistical Sciences)
Bradford J. Smith, College of Engineering, Design and Computing (Biomedical Engineering)

Lecturer (two campus winners)
(Selected by the IRC Roadmap Advisory Committee) 

* Dina Bodaubay, DMA, College of Arts & Media (Music & Entertainment Industry Studies)
* Hani Hage, MA, College of Architecture and Planning (Interior Design Program)

EXCELLENCE IN RESEARCH AND CREATIVE WORK AWARDS
(Selected by a committee comprising previous award winners)

Instructional/Research/Clinical Faculty (two campus winners)
Cameron Blevins, PhD, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (History)
Wendy L. Bolyard, PhD, School of Public Affairs
Qiong Hu, PhD, Business School
Dmitry Ostrovsky, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (Mathematical and Statistical Sciences)
Dane W. Stickney, PhD, School of Education & Human Development

Tenured/Tenure-Track Faculty (two campus winners)
Summer (Zixia) Cao, PhD, Business School
Melissa Furness, MFA, College of Arts & Media (Visual Arts)
* Brecca Gaffney, PhD, College of Engineering, Design and Computing (Mechanical Engineering, Center for Biomedical Engineering)
Rachel S. Gross, PhD, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (History)
* Tanya Heikkila, PhD, School of Public Affairs
Leyuan Li, MArch, College of Architecture and Planning (Architecture)
Michael P. Moore, PhD, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (Integrative Biology)
Elizabeth A. Steed, PhD, School of Education & Human Development
Esther Sullivan, PhD, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (Sociology)

EXCELLENCE IN LIBRARIANSHIP AWARD
(Selected by the Library Faculty Personnel Committee)

* Mariana Fujiwara Prestigiacomo, MLIS, Auraria Library (Collection Development)

FACULTY INCLUSIVE EXCELLENCE AWARD
(Selected by a committee comprised of a previous winner and representatives from the Office for Access and Campus Engagement/Inclusive Excellence Network and Human Resources)

* Brisa Peña, PhD, College of Engineering, Design and Computing (Biomedical Engineering)