Awards and Accolades

Awards and Accolades

By University Communications
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Renee Schafer Horton
Renee Schafer Horton
Yadira Berigan
Yadira Berigan
Sara Yerger
Sara Yerger
Dan Kruse
Dan Kruse
Anne L. Wright
Anne L. Wright
John Murphy
John Murphy
Ken Johns
Ken Johns

Three UA academic advisers have been selected to receive UA Program for Excellence in Undergraduate Academic Advising grants for spring 2014. Renee Schafer Horton, senior academic adviser for the UA School of Journalism, received the UA Professional Adviser Award, which is given to those who demonstrate practices that go beyond assigned responsibilities and distinguish the nominee as an outstanding academic adviser. Yadira Berigan, a lecturer and undergraduate major adviser in Department of Spanish and Portuguese in the UA College of Humanities, was awarded the Faculty Adviser award in recognition of her outstanding advising practices as a faculty adviser. Sara Yerger, senior academic adviser for the UA College of Education, received the Emerging Professional Adviser award, which is given to an outstanding academic adviser with three years or less of academic advising experience. The advising portfolios of the UA award recipients will be submitted to compete for national recognition through the National Academic Advising Association's annual awards program.

A film produced by Dan Kruse, senior announcer for Arizona Public Media and local host of NPR's "All Things Considered," has been accepted into the Phoenix Film Festival. Last year, the 33-minute documentary, titled "ZOOM! Tucson's Late '50s Rock 'n' Roll Label," received the "Best of Arizona" award at the 2013 Arizona International Film Festival and was screened at the 2013 Tucson Film and Music Festival. Kruse, who has worked at Arizona Public Media since 2010, produced the film for his master's thesis in ethnomusicology at the UA School of Music. The film depicts the emergence of the independent record label Zoom Records in the late 1950s in Tucson. "ZOOM! Tucson's Late '50s Rock 'n' Roll Label" will be screened on April 5 at 3:15 p.m. at the Phoenix Film Festival in Scottsdale.

The UA's Commission on the Status of Women has selected Anne L. Wright, senior associate dean of faculty affairs at the UA College of Medicine – Tucson, for its 2013 Vision Award. The award recognizes women in leadership roles who embrace diversity and inclusiveness at the University. Wright was honored during the CSW Vision Awards Ceremony on Feb. 20. She was nominated for her long-standing commitment to campus diversity goals and her work in support of the CSW. Wright, who is also a professor of pediatrics, was one of the architects of the GRACE Project, an in-depth analysis of gender disparities at the UA College of Medicine. This project succeeded in reducing disparities in academic rank, attainment of leadership positions and compensation. She also works to design and implement career and leadership development programs that enhance faculty diversity.

John Murphy, a professor in the UA Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science and associate dean for academic and professional affairs at the UA College of Pharmacy, has been chosen to receive the 2014 Harvey A. K. Whitney Lecture Award. This award is given by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists and recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the health-system pharmacy industry. It is among the highest honors in the field. Murphy's contributions to pharmacy practice in health systems have largely been focused on developing and running pharmacokinetic services, which involves interactions between drugs and the body. Throughout his career, Murphy has published more than 200 papers and 100 abstracts, and is a frequent speaker at state, national and international continuing education meetings.

Ken Johns, UA Department of Physics associate department head and professor of physics, is this year's recipient of the Professor Leon and Pauline Blitzer Award for Excellence in the Teaching of Physics and Related Sciences. Each year, the UA Department of Physics presents the award to a faculty member with an established record of teaching excellence in physics, astronomy, atmospheric sciences or planetary sciences. As part of the award presentation, Johns presented a public lecture Tuesday at Steward Observatory titled "The Higgs Boson and Beyond." The lecture addressed topics such as the role of the Higgs boson, the endeavors made to discover it, its importance in everyday life and what new discoveries may lie ahead. Johns's research focuses on the field of experimental high-energy physics. He is also a member of the ATLAS experiment at the European Council for Nuclear Research Large Hadron Collider that is researching head-on collisions of high-energy protons.

In addition to recently receiving a bronze award at the American Advertising Federation Tucson's 33rd Annual ADDY awards, the Alumni Association has been honored by the Interactive Media Council. The Alumni Association's website, arizonaalumni.com, received the Best in Class award from the council in recognition of its excellence in website design. In addition, the Alumni Association received multiple awards from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education District VII, an organization that serves as a resource for knowledge, standards, advocacy and training in alumni relations, communications, fundraising, marketing and related activities. The Alumni Association received a bronze award for "Wildcat Spirit: Time, Talent, Treasure" brochure in the Individual Fundraising Publications category, a silver award for arizonaalumni.com in the Complete Institutional Websites category, and a gold award for the Arizona Alumni Magazine iPad app in the Digital Magazines category.

We want to know about your good news. If you, your department or a colleague have won any major awards, been honored nationally or internationally, or accomplished some other major feat that deserves recognition, let us know about it.

To submit your news, please send us an email with the following information:

  • Name of the person or team receiving the honor.
  • Name of the organization granting the honor.
  • A description of the honor.
  • When the honor was announced and when it will be presented (or was presented).
  • A photo of the honoree. If others appear in the photo, please provide their names and affiliations.

Questions? Please contact Amanda Ballard at 626-4407 or amandaballard@email.arizona.edu.

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