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2019 Faculty Excellence Awards Winners

May 03, 2019

Michael J. Burnett of the Department of Visual and Performing Arts, Dr. Eddie F. “Trey” Holik III of the Department of Physics and Geosciences, and Dr. William A. Taylor of the Department of Security Studies and Criminal Justice are the winners of Angelo State University’s 2019 President’s Awards for Faculty Excellence.

2019 Faculty Excellence Awards winners, along with several semifinalists and nominees 2019 Faculty Excellence Awards winners, along with several semifinalists and nominees
They, along with 26 other faculty nominees, were honored at the 10th annual Faculty Recognition Dinner sponsored May 2 by the ASU Faculty Senate.

Burnett is the award winner for Faculty Excellence in Teaching. Holik received the award for Faculty Excellence in Research/Creative Endeavor. Taylor is the award winner for Faculty Excellence in Leadership/Service. Each received $2,500 and Signature Presidential Recognition Awards. Burnett and Holik will be ASU’s nominees for the Texas Tech University System Chancellor’s Awards for Excellence in Teaching and Excellence in Research.

Michael Burnett Michael Burnett An associate professor of theatre, Burnett is also assistant director of ASU’s University Theatre program and directs several student theatre productions every year. Known for being dedicated and available to his students, he also works tirelessly to improve as an educator and to enhance curriculum standards and procedures. He is chair of the ASU Core Curriculum Committee, serves on the Athletics Advisory Committee and is the faculty advisor for ASU’s chapter of the Alpha Psi Omega national theatre honor society. An eight-year ASU faculty member, Burnett also lends his teaching and curriculum development skills off campus as co-chair of the Texas Coordinating Board Drama Field of Study Committee and as a national teaching artist for the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, Texas Educational Theatre Association and University Scholastic League (UIL) One-Act Plays. He is trusted by professional theatre teachers, artists and professionals throughout the U.S. to teach students ranging from high school to college graduate students, all while remaining dedicated to his own students at ASU. He is also willing to incorporate different teaching styles to reach his students, and he has even created unique research classes to fit student interests not addressed in his department’s regular curriculum. He is a tough but balanced teacher with an artistic vision who takes a sincere interest in the advancement of all his students, as well as the students he reaches through his off-campus instructional and creative endeavors. Burnett also won the 2018 ASU President’s Award for Leadership/Service.

Dr. Eddie Trey Holik III Dr. Eddie "Trey" Holik III Holik, an assistant professor of physics, is an ASU alum and five-year ASU faculty member. A tireless researcher with extraordinary time management skills, he has performed groundbreaking research on magnetism and magnetic technology that is being utilized at such places as the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and the U.S. Large Hadron Collider that produce X-rays, protons or neutrons for the diagnosis and treatment of various diseases, including cancer. His technology can also be found in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) facilities. Over the last five years, he has received $35,000 in external research funding, published 22 articles in industry journals, made 18 presentations at professional conferences, and was an invited plenary speaker for the International Magnet Technology Conference in the Netherlands. He was also awarded a Toohig Fellowship by the U.S. Large Hadron Collider Accelerator Research Program, which is given annually to only one physics scholar in the world. In addition to his own research, Holik also mentors and secures funding for his students’ research projects. He has mentored 16 undergraduate research projects, several of which have been published, and he sponsors ASU’s chapters of the Society of Physics Students (SPS) and Sigma Pi Sigma national physics honor society. He also annually leads the SPS Physics Road Tour outreach program that takes entertaining physics demonstrations to middle and high schools throughout Texas and New Mexico. His dedication to his research and his students truly sets him apart.

Dr. William Taylor Dr. William Taylor Taylor, an associate professor of security studies, has excelled at leadership and service to his department and college, Angelo State, the community and his profession, while still teaching a full course load and maintaining a robust research agenda. An eight-year ASU faculty member, he has served as interim chair of the Department of Security Studies and Criminal Justice, as a member of the Faculty Senate Executive Committee, and on 36 department, college and university committees. In addition to teaching his students, he has served on 61 of their Comprehensive Exam Advisory Committees and 10 Graduate Thesis Advisory Committees. A published author and expert in civil-military relations and military training, he is a member of the Society for Military History 2019 Distinguished Book Awards Committee and is the editor of a new book series, “Studies in Civil-Military Relations,” through the University Press of Kansas. He was also instrumental in ASU hosting the 2019 All-Volunteer Force Forum Conference in March. Also a leader in research, Taylor has won 14 national fellowships and grants to fund his research that has produced three books, most recently “Contemporary Security Issues in Africa,” published in January. His books are housed in more than 950 libraries throughout the U.S. and in more than 35 countries. He also serves his profession as a member of multiple national organizations, including the Inter-University Seminar on Armed Forces and Society, American Historical Commission, Organization of American Historians and Association for the Study of African-American Life and History. His leadership and service on every level has been truly comprehensive and impressive.

In addition to the overall winners, four semifinalists in each category received a $500 award. For Excellence in Teaching, the semifinalists were David A. Huckaby, professor of mathematics; Heather L. Lehto, assistant professor of geosciences; Sandra K. Pate, associate professor of management; and Cheryl K. Stenmark, associate professor of psychology.

Semifinalists for Excellence in Research/Creative Endeavor were Anthony N. Celso, professor of security studies; Drew A. Curtis, assistant professor of psychology; Marva J. Solomon, assistant professor of teacher education; and Cheryl K. Stenmark, associate professor of psychology.

For Excellence in Leadership/Service, the semifinalists were Lesley L. Casarez, assistant professor of curriculum and instruction; Karl J. Havlak, professor of mathematics; Christine M. Lamberson, associate professor of history; and Vincent P. Mangano, senior instructor in accounting.

Other faculty nominees in the Excellence in Teaching category were Terence A. Dalrymple, professor of English; Cathryn L. Golden, instructor in accounting; Audrey B. Heron, assistant professor of curriculum and instruction; and Sonja Varbelow, assistant professor of teacher education.

Other nominees in the Excellence in Research/Creative Endeavor category were Allison L. Dushane, assistant professor of English; Dennis Hall, assistant professor of mathematics; Jun Huang, assistant professor of international business; Amy L. Murphy, assistant professor of education; Olalekan K. Seriki, assistant professor of marketing; Satvir Singh, assistant professor of management; and Ralph Zehnder, associate professor of chemistry.

In the Excellence in Leadership/Service category, the other nominees were Carlos A. Flores, assistant professor of teacher education; Rex T. Moody, associate professor of marketing; and Gabriela I. Serrano, associate professor of English.