KU Kudos: Faculty and staff achievements, June 2025
LAWRENCE — It’s time to celebrate Jayhawk colleagues’ achievements: KU News Service staff accepted submissions and combed websites, social media and newsletters for recent external honors and awards for current faculty and staff at the Lawrence, Edwards and Medical Center campuses and affiliates.
KU Kudos is published 6-7 times a year. Have something to share? Submit by July 31 for the next edition. Self-nominations are encouraged. Learn more about how to submit your professional achievements.
Austin Armstrong, clinical assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at the School of Medicine-Wichita, was honored by the Wichita Business Journal for Excellence in Health Care.
Gina Baker, clinical assistant professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy Education, was elected the chair of the Mental Health Special Interest Section of the American Occupational Therapy Association.
David Darwin, Deane E. Ackers Distinguished Professor of Engineering, was recognized by Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly in April for 50 years of service to the state of Kansas. He has been a member of the Department of Civil, Environmental & Architectural Engineering faculty since 1974.
Stacie Dojonovic, associate teaching professor in the Department of Special Education, was selected for the competitive Diversity Executive Leadership Program offered through the Washington, D.C.-based American Society of Association Executives.
Maurice Duggins, clinical associate professor in the Department of Family & Community Medicine, was appointed as a new chief medical officer at Ascension Via Christi, with primary responsibilities at St. Joseph Hospital.
Andrew Fry, director of the Jayhawk Athletic Performance Laboratory and professor in the Department of Health, Sport & Exercise Sciences, was the keynote speaker at the Central States Chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine. Dimitrije Cabarkapa, associate director of the Jayhawk Athletic Performance Laboratory, and Quincy Johnson, assistant professor and assistant director of the Jayhawk Athletic Performance Laboratory, also presented at the conference.
Alison Gabriele, professor of linguistics, presented at the annual Cognitive Neuroscience Society conference. Gabriele’s presentation, "Integrating discourse information in a second language: Evidence from event-related potentials," was a collaboration involving faculty and students from six different institutions, including colleague Robert Fiorentino, professor of linguistics, and current and former KU graduate and undergraduate students.
Patricia (Weems) Gaston, Lacy C. Haynes Professor of Journalism, served as a 2025 Pulitzer Prize juror. The Pulitzer Prize is regarded as the highest national honor in print journalism, literary achievement and musical composition. Gaston was part of the International Reporting Jury that met at Columbia University in late February.
A publication by Brian Helsel, assistant professor with the KU Alzheimer's Disease Research Center in the Department of Neurology, was selected as one of the 2024 Papers of the Year by the American College of Sports Medicine. Helsel's paper is titled "Physical Activity Patterns in Adolescents and Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities."
Sarah Hon, clinical professor of neurology, was elected to the American Academy of Neurology board of directors.
Meagan Karvonen and Nami Shin, staff members with KU’s Accessible Teaching, Learning, and Assessment Systems, co-wrote “Access to the General Education Curriculum for Students who Communicate Using Only Non-Symbolic Modes," which was selected as the winning paper for SIG 96 Inclusion and Accessibility in Educational Assessment at the American Educational Research Association Conference.
Derek Kwan, executive director of the Lied Center of Kansas, received a Legacy Award from the Lawrence Schools Foundation in spring 2025.
Stella Markou, professor of voice and opera, has been named a finalist for The American Prize in Directing — The Charles Nelson Reilly Prize, 2025, theater/musical theater division for her work on KU productions of "Sweeney Todd" (2024) and "Dido and Aeneas" (2023).
Stephen Mazza, dean of the School of Law, received the Patriot Award, which recognizes supervisors who go above and beyond in support of their employees who serve in the National Guard and Reserve, on behalf of the U.S. Department of Defense. Paul Cope, director of KU Law’s Master of Science in Homeland Security: Law and Policy Program and professor of the practice, who also serves as a lieutenant colonel with the Kansas Army National Guard, presented Mazza with the award.
KU Libraries' highlight video from Watson Library’s centennial celebration, "A Rhapsody in Jayhawk Blue," was named the Best Development/Fundraising Film at the 10th annual ARLIES Film Festival at the Association of Research Libraries Spring Association Meeting in Minneapolis. KU Libraries Dean Carol Smith accepted the award on behalf of the Libraries' Office of Communications and Advancement — Christy McWard, Kevin McCarty, Wendy Conover and Nikki Pirch — and their collaborator, Kayla Higginbotham of Cub Bear Creative. View the winning video.
“The Bone Picker: Native Stories, Alternate Histories,” by Devon Mihesuah, Cora Lee Beers Price Professor, is a finalist for a Shirley Jackson Award in the single-author collection category. The awards recognize outstanding achievement in the literature of psychological suspense, horror and the dark fantastic. “The Bone Picker” also recently won a gold award in the Foreword Reviews’ Indie Awards short stories category.
Felix Meschke, associate professor of finance and director of the Davis Center for Figure Sense at the KU School of Business, has been elected to the Southern Finance Association board of directors. SFA is a professional academic organization dedicated to advancing the study and practice of finance. Meschke will help guide the association’s activities and strategic direction.
In recognition of her expertise in adapted physical activity, Department of Occupational Therapy Education faculty member Lisa Mische Lawson was selected for the Fulbright Specialist Roster for a three-year term. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, the Fulbright Specialist Program offers the opportunity to participate in short-term, project-based exchanges lasting two to six weeks at institutions around the world.
Meredith Schnug, associate director of the Legal Aid Clinic and clinical associate professor of law, received the 2025 Kansas Bar Association Pro Bono Award. The award recognizes lawyers or law firms that deliver direct legal services free of charge to the poor, or in appropriate instances to charitable organizations who primarily provide other services to the poor.
Joseph Weir, professor in the Department of Health, Sport & Exercise Science, has been recognized by the National Strength and Conditioning Association as the NSCA Foundation 2025 Legacy Scholarship Honoree.
Jack Zhang, assistant professor of political science, was selected to the Committee of 100’s Next Generation Leaders, Class of 2025. The organization’s purpose is to promote the full participation of Chinese Americans in all aspects of American life and to advance constructive relations between the U.S. and China.
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