Georgia Southern University Awards of Excellence and Years of Service Recognition honors exceptional faculty, staff
STATESBORO, Ga. — Georgia Southern University recognized more than a dozen exceptional faculty and staff members from across the institution with the University Awards of Excellence and Years of Service Recognition. These awards celebrate individuals whose dedication and service has significantly contributed to the advancement of the University’s vision, mission and values.
The University Awards of Excellence span across seven distinctive categories honoring faculty and staff who have consistently gone above and beyond in their respective fields. Additional honors include the John D. and Meryln J. Denitto Outstanding Endeavor Award and the Team Award for Collective Impact.
The East Georgia Campus of Georgia Southern also highlighted three remarkable faculty and staff members who embody the heart, mission and values of the Golden Eagles with the Service, Teamwork, Attitude and Reliability (STAR) Award and the Spirit of East Georgia Award.
The 2025–26 University Awards of Excellence recipients include:
Innovation and Discovery — Valentin Soloiu, Ph.D., Distinguished Chair and professor of mechanical engineering; Ryan Gilbert, Associate Athletics Director
Economic and Social Mobility — Richard Cleveland, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Counselor Education; Heather Shelly, Associate Vice President for Financial Aid and Enrollment Services
People and Community Development — Taylor Norman, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Middle Grades and Secondary Education; McKenzie Peterman, Ed.D., Associate Director of Career Development and Instruction
Teaching, Learning and Development — Anna Brady, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Educational Psychology; Deborah Walker, Instructional Services Coordinator
Collaboration and Partnership — Ed Mondor, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Biology; Corine Ackerson-Jones, Director of TRIO Student Support Services
Leadership — Beth Howells, Ph.D., Department Chair and Professor of English; Kiera Stansell, Employee Relations Manager
Sustainable Stewardship — Lacey Huffling, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Science Education; Joann Cottrell, Tutoring Services Coordinator (Armstrong Campus)
John D. and Meryln J. Denitto Outstanding Endeavor Award — Nandi Marshall, DrPH, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Professor of Health Policy and Community Health
Collective Impact Award — Vertically Integrated Projects team, including faculty and staff contributors across disciplines:
Shainaz Landge, Ph.D., Gwendolyn Carroll, Ph.D., Heidi Eisenreich, Ph.D., Anthony Siccardi, Ph.D., Heather Joesting, Ph.D., Brigette Brinton, Dragos Amarie, Ph.D., Mark dela Cerna, Ph.D., Rocio Perez, Ph.D., Sara Gremillion, Ph.D., Urkovia Andrews, DrPH, Kristina Patterson, Ph.D., Dr. Stetson Rowles, Ph.D., David Weindorf, Ph.D., Karin Fisher, Ph.D., Suzanne S. Hallman, Hossein Taheri, Ph.D., Meenaloshini Vimal-Cruz, Ph.D., Jianzhou He, Ph.D., Vijayalakshmi Ramasamy, Ph.D., Stephen Griffin, Ph.D., Jorge Villa Vargas, Ph.D., Brian Koehler, Ph.D., and Jessica Orvis.
The 2025–26 University East Georgia Awards of Excellence recipients include:
S.T.A.R. Award — Jeffrey Howell, Ph.D., Professor of Social Sciences; Tifani Pool, Director of East Georgia – Statesboro Campus
Spirit of East Georgia Award — Courtney Joiner, Chair of the Department of Social Science and Professional Studies in Social Sciences
For more detailed profiles on each recipient of the Georgia Southern University’s 2025-26 University Awards of Excellence and Years of Service Recognition, click here.
To find more information on the East Georgia Campus 2025-26 STAR Awards and Years of Service Recognition, click here.