Dean Kelly Fiala announced the winners of the 2024 Dean’s Awards for Excellence during the all-college meeting held Aug. 19 in Wirtz Hall auditorium.
Bryan Dallas, DeAnna Harris-McKoy, Yujun Liu, Jessica Madrigal and Flora Surjadi were each recognized for their significant contributions and named as this year’s award winners.
“I continue to be amazed by our talented faculty and staff,” Fiala said. “Their accomplishments are extraordinary and I am glad that we can offer this much deserved recognition.”
Each winner was recognized during the meeting and received an award to commemorate the accomplishment.
Bryan Dallas
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 2024 winner is Bryan Dallas, associate professor in the School of Interdisciplinary Health Professions.
Nominators were impressed by his extensive service, both on and off campus. Specifically, he was lauded for his efforts with launching Huskies Building Effective Learning Opportunities and Network Guidance (BELONG), a yearlong program created to assist rising high school seniors with disabilities prepare for the transition to college.
DeAnna Harris-McKoy
The Lankford Award for Excellence in Teaching is given each year to a full-time, tenured or tenure-tracked faculty member who has an excellent overall teaching effectiveness score. It is named for James Lankford, former dean of the college, who initiated the award
This year’s winner is DeAnna Harris-McKoy, associate professor in the School of Family and Consumer Sciences and director of the Specialization in Marriage and Family Therapy program.
Nominators pointed to Harris-McKoy’s contributions to teaching, particularly her creation of a collaborative environment that significantly enhanced student engagement in online courses. Additionally, they pointed to an innovative assignment involving a therapeutic game which demonstrated her commitment to helping students apply course content in diverse and meaningful ways.
Yujun Liu
The Sullivan Award for Excellence in Research is given to a regular full-time faculty tenured/tenure-track or clinical and regular full-time supportive professional staff who have at least three years of experience at NIU. Grantsmanship and collaborative efforts with students are also considered for this award that was endowed by Peggy Sullivan, former dean of the college.
The Sullivan Award winner is Yujun Liu, assistant professor in the School of Family and Consumer Sciences.
Nominators pointed to the collaborative nature of her research as well as ongoing engaged research with students.
Flora Surjadi
The Award for Excellence in Promoting Academic Equity/Diversity/Inclusion honors faculty, staff, and/or students who work collaboratively to develop strategies that eliminate learning barriers and create a culture of civility. The award recognizes creative and varied approaches to teaching and
assessment to achieve equity in learning outcomes and recognizes an individual who exemplifies the college’s strategic goal of achieving academic equity.
Flora Surjadi, associate professor in the School of Family and Consumer Sciences, earned the 2024 award.
Nominators said they were impressed by her committee involvement and contributions in developing educational materials focused on Southeast Asian Americans in support of The Teaching Equitable Asian American Community History (TEAACH) Act.
Jessica Madrigal
The Award for Exceptional Work in Interprofessional Education (IPE) recognizes the creation and facilitation of both curricular and co-curricular experiences.
Created in 2024, this award honors faculty, staff and/or students who work collaboratively to provide interprofessional education opportunities with positive implications for patient outcomes.
The inaugural recipient of the Exceptional Work in Interprofessional Education (IPE) award is Jessica Madrigal, human patient simulation coordinator in the School of Nursing.
Nominators lauded Madrigal for her dedication in creating and facilitating simulation scenarios both on and off campus, which provide valuable interprofessional education opportunities.
