The University’s annual celebration of student, faculty and staff achievement, “Honor the Best,” was held on May 13 in the Glick Ballrooms of the Joe Crowley Student Union.
As has been the case since the first “Honor the Best” ceremony was held in 1970, celebrating careers among the University’s people that were coming to a close as well as careers that are still in full flight, were the points of emphasis.
“What makes our ‘Honor the Best’ ceremony so special is what it represents,” University President Brian Sandoval said. “Other than Commencement, which also has an element of looking ahead while also looking back at what has happened, ‘Honor the Best’ is a unique moment for the campus to celebrate the accomplishments of so many outstanding individuals whose work has made our University proud.”
Among those honored were 39 emeriti. Two faculty members, Todd Felts and Myrton Running Wolf of the Donald W. Reynolds School of Journalism, were both posthumously awarded the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility Leadership Award. Felts, an RSJ faculty member for 17 years, passed away in late November 2024. Running Wolf, an RSJ faculty member since 2017, passed away in January.
Those honored at “Honor the Best” included:
Regents’ Awards
Undergraduate Academic Advisor
Malia Mitooka-Ferranto
Jason Geddes Rising Researcher
Joanna Blaszczak
Jason Geddes Rising Researcher
Pengbo Chu
Jason Geddes Rising Researcher
Li Ke
Sam Lieberman Regent's Award for Student Scholarship
Olufemi Erinoso (Graduate)
Sam Lieberman Regent's Award for Student Scholarship
Riley Gillis (Undergraduate)
Regents Distinguished Researcher
Vladimir Pravosudov
Regents Humanities and Social Sciences Researcher
Monica Miller
Foundation Awards
Foundation Professor
Kristen Clements-Nolle
Foundation Professor
Thomas Quint
Foundation Professor
David Leitner
Established Innovator
Christopher Barile
Innovative Impact
Casey Venturini
Outstanding Letter of Appointment Instructional Faculty
Emilio Parga (Fall 2024)
Outstanding Letter of Appointment Instructional Faculty
Amy Absher (Spring 2025)
Foundation Early Career Innovator
Ying Yang
Foundation Classified Employee of the Year
Kelly Larson
Administrative Faculty of the Year
Claudia Esther Cruz
Outstanding Committee Service
Paul Neill
Outstanding Leadership & Supervisor
Nora Luna
University Awards
Excellence in Lab Safety
Subhash Verma
Donald Tibbitts Distinguished Teacher
Megan Biagi
Donald Tibbitts Distinguished Teacher
Jennifer Hollander
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Accessibility Leadership
Lydia Huerta Moreno
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Accessibility Leadership
Todd Felts, Posthumously
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Accessibility Leadership
Myrton Running Wolf, Posthumously
Postdoctoral Award for Exceptional Mentoring
Satish Manandhar
Graduate Academic Advisor
David Feil-Siefer
R.O.T.C. Governor's Award
Terrell Calinog
R.O.T.C. President's Award
William Crosby
Thornton Peace Prize
The Latino Research Center
Outstanding Researcher (STEM)
Elizabeth Leger
Outstanding Researcher (Social Science, Art, Culture or Society)
Valerie Fridland
Paul & Judy Bible University Teaching Excellence
Sergiu Dascalu
Student Awards
Student Employee of the Year
Vincent Andrei Lumbad Esconde
Cavanaugh Community Volunteer Award
Natalie Rubio
Henry Albert Senior Public Service
Caitlin Shamiya
Henry Albert Senior Public Service
Linda Weathers
Outstanding Senior
Om Patel
Outstanding Senior
Hailey Guerrero
ASUN Service-Learning Faculty Award
Jennifer Lanterman
Outstanding Graduate Student Researcher
Zeynab Maghsoudi
Outstanding Graduate Student
Kemi Osho
Distinguished Awards
Distinguished Classified Employee
Molly Mott
Distinguished Faculty
Dennis Dworkin
Distinguished Service
David Shintani
Distinguished Outreach & Engagement
Gerald Ackerman
Emeriti Faculty
- Kimberly Baxter
- Jamie Benedict
- Dan Brush
- Sharon Brush
- Keith R. Clark
- Veronica Dahir
- Raquel DePuy
- Craig D. Dodson
- Mary Phelps Dugan
- James "J" Epperson
- Marcus A. Erling
- Isabelle Favre
- William L. Eubank
- Todd Felts, Posthumously
- Allison Ferguson
- Robert D. Gander
- Jack Hayes
- Michaun Hayes
- Marci Hosier-Behmaram
- Victor Kantsyrev
- Charles Krasner
- John Leland
- Johnson Makoba
- Shawn Marsh
- Brian K. Martin
- Katherine McCall
- Roy Oman
- Eric Rasmussen
- Barry Perryman
- June Saraceno
- Javad Sattarvand
- Brad Schultz
- Amy Shannon
- Mary Shultz
- Gordon Steinmann
- Joshua Stevenson
- Debra Vigil
- James Winn
- Carrie Young
