Congratulations to these recently honored employees.

Albrecht Classen Receives Outstanding Advising Award

Albrecht Classen, UA Distinguished Professor and undergraduate adviser in the Department of German Studies, was recently selected as a Certificate of Merit recipient for the Outstanding Advising Award in the category of Faculty Academic Advising. The Global Community for Academic Advising, also known as NACADA, honored Classen for his significant contributions to the improvement of academic advising in higher education. Classen has a broad range of research interests related to German and European history and literature and has published more than 597 scholarly articles and 2,259 book reviews. This isn't the first time Classen has been recognized for his work in his field or for his teaching. He was also named Arizona Professor of the Year in 2012.

UA's Chief Research Officer Appointed to Food Security Commission

Kimberly Andrews Espy, senior vice president for research, was recently appointed to the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities' newest commission – The Challenge of Change: Engaging Public Universities to Feed the World. The APLU convened the commission to address growing domestic and global food security challenges and to ensure universal food security by 2050. The commission is charged with identifying research, education and engagement efforts that public universities should develop in order to build a sustainable food security model that can benefit communities across the globe for generations to come. Espy will serve on the commission with other public university administrators, leading scholars, development experts and former senior government officials.

Laura K. Simpson Bosworth Receives Baldwin Wallace Alumni Merit Award

Laura Bosworth, professor in the College of Education, was honored with the Alumni Merit Award from Baldwin Wallace University, the highest honor bestowed to the university's alumni. She was honored for her influential leadership in developing effective educators and improving the lives of at-risk youth. At the UA, Bosworth has focused her efforts on the role of school culture and climate as a buffer for individual risk factors for risk-taking behavior. Her nationally recognized work has been funded by grants from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, the Lilly Foundation, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the U.S. Department of Education, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the National Institute of Justice.

Health Sciences Recognizes Employees

UA Health Sciences Staff Advisory Committee members seek nominations every year for a variety of awards to recognize the service of UAHS employees. The Georgia Reynolds Dedicated Service Award was given to Jack Roberts, assistant to the chair of the Department of Otolaryngology, for his contributions as an ombudsperson and for his community service. The Lura Hanekamp Awards for Excellence were given to Alejandra Zapien-Hidalgo, student recruitment and retention specialist with the Office of Diversity and Inclusion and assistant professor in the Department of  Family and Community Medicine; Peggy Nolty, program manager in the Department of Neurology; and Tanisha N. Price Johnson, executive director of admissions and financial aid and research assistant professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine.

The UA College of Nursing Awards for Excellence went to Amanda Gluski, assistant director of student affairs, who received the college's Employee of the Year Award, and Sue Habkirk, coordinator of instructional support services, who received the college's Staff Award for Excellence. UA College of Pharmacy Awards for Excellence were presented to Kate Johnson, interprofessional care coordinator at the Medication Management Center; Tim Wunz, director of information technology; and Ann Taylor, project manager for the Center for Health Outcomes and PharmacoEconomic Research and other units. UA Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health Awards for Excellence were presented to Rebecca Ruiz, program coordinator senior with the Center for Rural Health, who received the college's Staff Award for Excellence, and Kimberly Barnes, Phoenix coordinator for the Office of Student Services and Alumni Affairs, who received the college's Appointed Professional Service Award for Excellence.

Two UA Physicians Honored for Commitment to Underserved Communities

Chicanos Por La Causa honored Dr. Jessica Moreno and Dr. Cecilia Rosales, both UA faculty physicians, for their commitment to ensuring that underserved families throughout southern Arizona receive excellent health care. The two received the organization's Cause for Change Award for their distinguished careers as leaders in health and education whose sacrifice and dedication to the community has had significant impact now and on many generations to come. Moreno established a prenatal care model that includes teaching medical students and residents the art of working in low-resource settings. Rosales has demonstrated outstanding expertise and scholarship in the areas of program development and implementation, public health administration, and policy and health disparities research related to the Southwest and border region.

Engineering Professor Honored for Commitment to Diversity in STEM

Wolfgang Fink, UA associate professor of electrical and computer engineering and Keonjian Chair in the College of Engineering, received the 2016 University Excellence in STEM Diversity award from UA Women in Science and Engineering, or WISE, at its annual banquet in Tucson on April 28. As faculty adviser to the UA student chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers, or NSBE, Fink helped a team of undergraduates win the NSBE national robotic pipeline inspection competition and later publish their research findings in the Journal of Pipeline Engineering. Fink also works to increase diversity in STEM through outreach activities in local schools. NSBE chapter president Eugenia Anane-Wae and treasurer Ty’Dria White accepted the WISE award on Fink's behalf. Fink has been elected to serve a two-year term on the UA Faculty Senate. He is featured in the current issue of Arizona Alumni Magazine.

Moriba Jah Receives CU-Boulder Distinguished Alumni Award

Moriba Jah, associate research scientist and associate research professor of engineering and director of UA Space Object Behavioral Sciences, has received a 2016 Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award from the College of Engineering & Applied Science at the University of Colorado, Boulder. He was one of six CU-Boulder engineering alumni to receive the honor, which recognizes alumni for outstanding personal qualities, knowledge and professional contributions. Jah has raised the profile of UA space science expertise on many fronts since joining the UA in January. In January, he met White House space policy officials in Washington, D.C., and in February visited Vienna, Austria, as a delegate to the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. In March, he organized a panel on managing space traffic at the UA and in April he was a panelist at the 32nd Space Symposium in Colorado Springs. This week, he is speaking at the Defense Strategies Institute Second Annual Space Resiliency Summit in Virginia, and in August he will speak at the Space Technology & Investment Forum in San Francisco. Jah has been widely interviewed on radio and television stations from Arizona to Australia.

Ecology Professor Receives Emerging Leader Award for Work in Botany

Michael Barker, professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, received the Botanical Society of America Emerging Leader Award. The award is given annually in recognition of creative and influential scholarship in any area of botany. The award allows Barker to present a special lecture at next year's Botanical Society of America meeting. He will also receive a five-year membership in the society, free publication in the "American Journal of Botany" for two years and an invitation to submit a special paper to the American Journal of Botany. He received the award for his leadership in research and his dedication to teaching, outreach and service. He has organized several symposia and colloquia and is always willing to assume leadership roles at the UA. 

Paul Sheppard Receives Award for Advancement of Forestry

Paul Sheppard, professor in the Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research, received the Outstanding Forester Award from the Southwestern Section of the Society of American Foresters. He received the award for his contributions to the advancement of professional forestry in the last three years. At the UA, his teaching and research focus on environmental history, including forest health and human-environment interactions through time. He's been a member of the Society of American Foresters since graduating with his forestry degree from Humboldt State University in 1982 and is the secretary-treasurer of the Southern Arizona chapter.