College of Health and Human Sciences names winners of 2020 Awards for Excellence

NIU’s College of Health and Human Sciences announced the winners of the 2020 Awards for Excellence in teaching, research and service during the online college meeting held Aug. 17.

J. Mark Killmer, D. Scott Sibley and King Chung were each recognized for their significant contributions and named as this year’s recipients.

J. Mark Killmer
The Lankford Award for Excellence in Teaching is given each year to a full-time, tenured or tenure-tracked faculty member within the College of Health and Human Sciences who ranks in the top quarter of student evaluations and upper half of teaching evaluations. It is named for James Lankford, former dean of the college, who initiated the award.

The 2020 winner of the Lankford Award is J. Mark Killmer, associate professor in the School of Family and Consumer Sciences and former director of the Specialization in Marriage and Family Therapy program.

“Dr. Killmer exudes a passion for the training of marriage and family therapists,” said Derryl Block, dean of the College of Health and Human Sciences. “He has led the program through a rigorous re-accreditation process and has contributed to significant curricular changes in the program.”

Block said Killmer’s dedication to educating his students consistently shines through.

“He has a reflective approach to supervision and mentorship,” Block said. “Mark has demonstrated his commitment as an educator of students from underrepresented groups and helped them become successful in the field of marriage and family therapy.”

D. Scott Sibley
The Sullivan Award for Excellence in Research is given to a full-time, tenured or tenure-tracked faculty member or full-time supportive professional staff. Grantsmanship and collaborative efforts with students are also considered as part of the criteria for selection for the award that was endowed by Peggy Sullivan, former dean of the college.

The 2020 winner of the Sullivan Award is D. Scott Sibley, assistant professor in the School of Family and Consumer Sciences.

“Dr. Sibley formed and led a research team comprised of undergraduate and graduate students,” Block said. “This has given him the opportunity to mentor students in preparation for graduate school and to enrich the experience for graduate students in the program.”

Sibley’s work with his research team at NIU led to 20 peer reviewed presentations at local, state, and national conferences. He also recently received the Faculty Mentor Award from the Illinois Council on Family Relations.

King Chung
The Fisher Award for Excellence in Service is given each year to a regular full-time, tenured or tenure-tracked faculty member or regular full-time supportive professional staff member. The service may involve on-campus activities but also must include off-campus professional activities at the state, national or international level that contribute to the stature and growth of the profession.

Cletus Fisher, former chair of the Department of Communicative Disorders, funded the award.

The 2020 winner of the Fisher Award is King Chung, professor in the School of Allied Health and Communicative Disorders.

Dr. Chung has shown excellence in service to NIU as well as to national and international organizations,” Block said.

Chung, program director of the Doctor of Audiology program, served as the program coordinator and led the audiology program through reviews and accreditation by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.

“Through the years, Dr. Chung and her students and colleagues have provided free hearing services to more than 4,000 children and adults around the world,” Block said. “In addition, she has disseminated information on their hearing status and hearing care needs in many professional and peer-reviewed publications.”

 

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