New Faculty Awards
One of the most important things we do at the Texas Tech Alumni Association is use membership funds to help to meet academic needs throughout Texas Tech University. In order to assist Texas Tech in attracting and retaining world class faculty, the Texas Tech Alumni Association established the New Faculty Awards program in 1987 to recognize outstanding new members of the faculty in each college and the School of Law.
The dean of each of these academic units designates the recipient of the award, which carries with it a certificate and an honorarium of $500 funded by the Texas Tech Alumni Association.
The awards are presented to faculty who have four years, or fewer, of service at any university and who have earned distinction for dedicated service to Texas Tech.
The 2012 New Faculty Award recipients were recognized by Chancellor Kent Hance and Provost Bob Smith, Ph.D., for their quality teaching and research during the annual Faculty Honors Convocation.
Congratulations to the 2012 recipients!
David Rogowski is not a “fresh out of school” assistant professor. He received his B.S. in 1989 and worked for several years as an environmental scientist before starting an M.S. program in Louisiana in 1997 and ultimately completing his Ph.D. at North Dakota State University in 2004.
He joined the Department of Natural Resources Management (College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources) in 2008. He has garnered more than $120,000 to support his research and has a strong publication record, with 12 peer-reviewed journal articles. He is a talented researcher, teacher and mentor of undergraduate researchers and represents the very best among the junior faculty in the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources.
Maria-Rita Perbellini is an internationally recognized designer with commendations for her architectural, interior and urban design work. She is considered one of the College of Architecture’s most productive faculty members, bringing considerable recognition to Texas Tech. She is the college’s chair of instruction–a service-related, but intensely difficult position, as she is responsible for the culture of the college, 800 students and the teaching assignments of 45 faculty members.
Perbellini is considered one of the college’s most rigorous teachers, but students often note that her standards have often played vital roles in their development as young professionals.
In the short time that Laura Calkins has been a member of the Department of History (College of Arts & Sciences), she has had a significant impact on both her students and her colleagues. She is considered a dedicated and committed teacher, a giving and generous colleague and an engaged scholar. Besides being a very effective teacher, she is also recognized as an emerging scholar in the area of Chinese history.
Her willingness to give of herself, her time, her knowledge, and her expertise has made her one of the most sought-after world historians in the department.
Since joining the Area of Accounting (Rawls College of Business), William Buslepp has grown into an outstanding young professor. He has taken responsibility for a historically very difficult course, revamped it, and as a result, improved student enthusiasm for the course noticeably.
Buslepp is involved in complex, high-quality research and on his way toward developing a nationally recognized research record. He is a participant in departmental service activities and a key player in efforts to recruit new faculty members. He is just the kind of new faculty who deserves to be recognized.
Since his very first semester as assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering (Whitacre College of Engineering), Changzhi Li has displayed a great deal of passion and talent for teaching. He strives to make his course material exciting and stimulating. His effectiveness in teaching is reflected in excellent teaching evaluation scores, which he consistently receives from both undergraduate and graduate students; the scores are among the best in the department.
One co-worker said, “Dr. Li has found a good balance of teaching and research priorities, and he takes his responsibility very seriously. He is a credit to the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department as well as the College of Engineering.”
Restaurant, hotel and institutional management specialist (College of Human Sciences) Kelly Phelan is described as a talented assistant professor. Her accomplishments in teaching and service are most impressive, and she is considered a solid and effective researcher.
Phelan teaches several different classes for which she receives exceptional student evaluations. Her research activities are off to a very good start. Of particular note is her selection to work with community involvement in Africa to develop and begin training programs for residents who can then work in the tourism field. In addition to the above noted efforts, she is the faculty advisor to the men’s hockey team and the coach of the women’s lacrosse team. She is well rounded and well deserving of this award.
A mass communications faculty colleague of Josh Grimm proclaimed he heard about quality teaching during Grimm’s very first semester at Texas Tech. The students assert they had never had a professor who could so effectively take them step-by-step through the complex process of filming, editing and producing visual stories for television and the Internet.
Grimm’s knowledge of the subject, the software, and the equipment, combined with his self-deprecating humor, has better prepared students for the rapidly changing journalism profession. He appears to have bright future as both a scholar and a teacher.
Since her arrival in the Department of Theatre and Dance (College of Visual & Performing Arts), Ali Duffy has taught regular course loads of four, and sometimes five, classes per long semester. Even with such an excessive load, she always receives impressive student evaluations.
She has proven to be an exceptionally skilled instructor, comfortable in many different kinds of learning environments and always working to engage and encourage her students. She has become a valued member in her department not only because of her expert teaching but also her research/creative endeavors and service. Her colleagues refer to her as an emerging bright star–one who is truly deserving of this award.
Note: Images by Neal Hinkle; Faculty bios courtesy of the Office of the Provost.