SIU to honor nine Excellence Award recipients

April 15, 2024

by Pete Rosenbery

CARBONDALE, Ill. - Southern Illinois University Carbondale will recognize nine faculty and staff members for superior scholarship and creative endeavors, teaching and service with the 2024 Excellence Awards.

The awards are bestowed annually for exceptional work both in and outside the classroom. The recipients will be recognized during a ceremony at 3 p.m. Tuesday, April 23, in Morris Library's John C. Guyon Auditorium.

"The Excellence Award winners imagine how they can make the world better and then make their vision a reality, even when it defies the odds," said Chancellor Austin A. Lane. "We are proud to call them our fellow Salukis."

The 2024 SIU Carbondale Excellence Awards recipients are:

• Scholar Excellence Award: Eduardo Gastal, professor, School of Agricultural Sciences, College of Agricultural, Life, and Physical Sciences.
• Teaching Excellence Award (tenured and tenure-track): Kelly Bender, associate professor, School of Biological Sciences, College of Agricultural, Life, and Physical Sciences.
• Teaching Excellence Award (non-tenure track): Mary Kinsel, associate professor of practice, School of Chemical and Biomolecular Sciences, College of Agricultural, Life, and Physical Sciences.
• Early Career Faculty Excellence Award: Lahiru Jayakody, assistant professor, School of Biological Sciences/Fermentation Science Institute, College of Agricultural, Life, and Physical Sciences.
• Women of Distinction: Valerie Boyer, associate professor, School of Health Sciences (Communication Disorders and Sciences area), and Camille Davidson, dean, SIU Simmons Law School.
• Emerging Leader: Kelli Whittington, assistant professor, School of Health Sciences, College of Health and Human Sciences.
• Staff Excellence Award: Katherine Elson, academic adviser, College of Agricultural, Life, and Physical Sciences, and FNU Tugiyanto, information technology manager, Office of Information Technology.