Honors and awards

April 2021

Scheel receives teaching excellence award

Karen Scheel, teaching professor in the department of psychology, has received the 2021 Adjunct Faculty Teaching Excellence Award from the Society for the Teaching of Psychology (Division 2 of the American Psychological Association). The award recognizes demonstrated excellence in four areas: effective teaching, stimulation of student interest/advancement in psychology, commitment to student learning and intellectual growth, and advancement of one's professional identity as a teacher of psychology.

60 share P&S Cytation awards

Eighteen individuals and four teams -- 60 Professional and Scientific employees total -- from across the university community received 2020 CYtation Awards, sponsored by the P&S Council. The annual awards recognize P&S employees who go above and beyond the call of duty, do something extraordinarily well and whose actions make a real difference in the institution. They were honored this month during a virtual ceremony.

Kanwar, LeSar selected for USAID assignments

Ramesh Kanwar, Charles F. Curtiss Distinguished Professor in Agriculture and Life Sciences in agricultural and biosystems engineering, and Richard LeSar, professor of materials science and engineering, have been selected for Jefferson Science Fellowships and will spend one year on assignment at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) contributing their engineering expertise to USAID projects. Kanwar, a worldwide leader in developing engineering solutions for emerging global environmental problems from agricultural and livestock production systems, will work USAID's environment team in the Bureau of Latin America and the Caribbean, Office of Regional Sustainable Development. LeSar, an internationally recognized expert in using computational methods to study the properties of materials, will work with USAID's Center for Education.

Iowa State receives Tree Campus USA designation

For the fifth consecutive year, Iowa State University has received the Tree Campus USA designation. The Arbor Day Foundation program honors colleges and universities for effective campus forest management and engaging staff and students in conservation goals. In their applications, schools address five standards: staffing a tree advisory committee, maintaining a campus tree care plan, dedicating annual expenditures for its campus tree program, and holding both an Arbor Day observance and student service-learning project.

Strawhacker appointed to chair national committee

Austin Strawhacker, associate state director of America's Small Business Development Center Iowa, has been appointed chair of the Association of SBDCs' research and data committee. The committee's main goal is to advise the national organization's board and work with its president and staff to identify, collect, compile, analyze and disseminate statistical data important to achieving the organization's strategic objectives. America's SBDC Iowa is an outreach program of the Ivy College of Business and the Office of Economic Development and Industry Relations.

Koolbeck recognized among live event executives

Tammy Koolbeck, executive director of the VenuWorks-managed Stephens Auditorium, has been recognized by the Pollstar and VenuesNow publications as a "2021 Women of Live" honoree. The award recognizes excellence and accomplishment across the live event ecosystem. The 44  executives honored by the industry publications this year include agents, promoters, managers, venue GMs, professional sports team executives, building architects, industry advocates and technological innovators.