CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Mid-American Conference will announce the 12 institutional winners for the Outstanding Faculty Award for Student Success this week. This marks the fourth year that the award has been given out to recognize the
outstanding efforts of MAC faculty to support and develop students both inside and outside of the classroom.
This student-focused award is distinguishable from academic or research-based awards as it celebrates the commitment of the MAC to a holistic student experience and the creation of an environment that supports success in school and in life.
Eligibility for this award is broad in nature in an effort to identify a wide range of outstanding means by which faculty are significantly impacting students, and to create an opportunity to recognize the various ways that student success is supported within the MAC. It is the hope of this award that the twelve nominees represent a diverse community that demonstrate support for student success throughout their entire collegiate experience.
The list of the institutional winners from each MAC school can be found below. The winner of the 2023 Outstanding Faculty Award for Student Success will be announced on Friday, March 3.
2023 Outstanding Faculty Award for Student Success Institutional Winners
Christopher Keppler, University of Akron
Professor of Practice and General Manager, WZIP
Chris Keppler is a professor of practice in the School of Communication at The University of Akron, where there is a déjà vu effect - he was a student in the school, had a stint at WZIP-FM, and completed an internship. Now, he is part of the Media Studies faculty, is the general manager of the radio station, and coordinates all School of Communication internships. Following the advice of his faculty advisor, Keppler did not pursue graduate studies right away. Instead, the Zip alumnus took his skills to radio/multimedia newsrooms as a reporter and radio news anchor, eventually winning numerous statewide awards that include Best Reporter, Best Investigative Reporting, Best Feature Story and many others. He later returned to The University of Akron to earn a master’s degree. At the university, Keppler focuses on assisting with initiatives that help to build educational and social aspects of students’ college experience, often helping with official and impromptu meetings with prospective students, serving as orator at commencement ceremonies, arranging student trips to national conferences, or finding ways to build self-confidence in students involved with the radio station. Outside of the university, Keppler chairs the John S. Knight/Akron Press Club Scholarship Committee and has served in several other volunteer capacities in the community, including organizations linked to his now-adult sons’ activities in addition to Tuesdays with Aubrey – his 5-year old granddaughter!
Benjamin M. Swarts, Central Michigan University
Professor, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Ben Swarts is a Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Central Michigan University. At CMU, Ben applies innovative methods to teach organic chemistry and biochemistry in the classroom and he directs a group of research students that applies chemistry to improve the diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis (TB), which is the world’s leading cause of death by an infectious organism. His lab has developed new ways to investigate and target the unique molecules in the cell envelope of mycobacteria, which are the bacteria that cause TB and related infectious diseases. Over the past decade, this interdisciplinary research has engaged >60 undergraduate and graduate CMU students, led to nearly 100 student co-authorships on journal articles and >150 student presentations at conferences, and provided scientific training that has propelled students into top-tier graduate/professional schools, national laboratories, and companies. Ben and his students’ research has been funded by agencies such as the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation, published in high-impact academic journals, patented and commercialized, and recognized by national and international awards, including an NSF CAREER Award, Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award, Research Corporation Cottrell Scholar Award, and International Carbohydrate Organisation Young Researcher Award. Ben has also served as a mentor to students in the national McNair Scholars and American Chemical Society SEED programs, and he developed and runs an outreach program at CMU that promotes STEM education and provides research training to students at multiple community colleges in central and northern Michigan.
Kelly Knapp-Blay, Kent State University
Lecturer; Department of Marketing and Entrepreneurship
Kelly Blay has enjoyed her “encore career” as a member of the faculty in the Ambassador Crawford College of Business and Entrepreneurship at Kent State University. Prior to joining the faculty, she worked 25 years for a Fortune 500 company as a manager and executive. She shares many interesting stories with her students from her career in telecommunications where she managed teams of 400 associates, held responsibility for sales, budget management, operations and client service centers. Kelly teaches courses in the Marketing and Entrepreneurship Department at Kent State University. She also serves as a faculty advisor for Pi Sigma Epsilon, a professional sales and marketing fraternity where she serves as a coach and judge for marketing student competitions. Kelly has been fortunate to be recognized by 6 varsity athletes as a Kent State University MVP, Most Valuable Professor. MVPs are selected by student-athletes who identify professors who have made the largest impact on their academic success during their time at Kent State University. She was also named as a finalist for Kent State University’s Outstanding Teaching Award in 2022. Kelly enjoys helping with recruitment at Kent State where she meets with prospective students and parents to talk about opportunities available within the Ambassador Crawford College of Business. She believes in the importance of giving back to the community as President of the 4-H Advisory Committee and as a member of the Board of Trustees for The Ohio State University, Mansfield campus.
Dr. Adam J. Kuban, Ball State University
Professor of Journalism
Dr. Adam J. Kuban is a professor in the School of Journalism & Strategic Communication and an affiliate faculty member in the Honors College at Ball State University. Before his arrival in Indiana in 2011, Adam attained both Bachelor and Master of Science degrees from Iowa State University in Ames. His Ph.D. comes from the Department of Communication at The University of Utah in Salt Lake City. Adam has taught for 18 years as the instructor of record for an array of media-centric courses, earning teaching awards from Iowa State (in 2007), from Utah (in 2010) and from Ball State (in 2015 and in 2021). In 2022, he earned the Paragon Award from LEAP Indiana, the state chapter affiliated with the American Association of Colleges & Universities, for sustained teaching and professional achievement promoting inclusive excellence in undergraduate education, lifelong learning, and engaged citizenship. Before that in 2021, he also received the Community-Engaged Alliance Brian D. Hiltunen Award for the Outstanding Contribution to the Scholarship of Engagement. To date, Adam has led 17 community-engaged, project-based teams of students, which have included diverse partnerships with local and nationally recognized organizations. Each project typically results in media-oriented creative work, which can range from books, magazines, websites, apps, and/or documentaries depending on the need(s) of the partner and the scope of the project. Finally, since 2019, Adam has been an assistant coach for the boys' tennis team at Hamilton Southeastern High School in Fishers, Indiana.
Danielle Feeney, Ohio University
Assistant Professor of Instruction
Danielle Feeney, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Instruction in Special Education at Ohio University. She received her Ph.D. in Special Education from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas with expertise in Learning Disabilities, Emotional Behavioral Disorders, and Teaching English as a Second Language. Prior to joining OHIO, Dr. Feeney was a middle school Intervention Specialist and Special Education Instructional Facilitator in Las Vegas, Nevada. Dr. Feeney teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in OHIO's special education program with a focus on assessment, behavioral interventions, teaching methods, and Universal Design for Learning. She has been effective in utilizing Universal Design for Learning across her sophomore-, junior-, senior-, and graduate-level courses to improve access, engagement, and learning for all students. Throughout her time at OHIO, Dr. Feeney has provided service to the department, college, university, local community, and national community. Her commitment is demonstrated through her work on department and college Diversity, Equity, Justice, and Inclusion committees, college committees for student well-being, and university committees for teaching and learning. As the advisor of OHIO’s Inclusion Project, she collaborates with students across all majors to advocate for more inclusive societies while also partnering with local, state, and national organizations who hold the same mission. Dr. Feeney has collaborated with colleagues and undergraduate students to present and publish work on non-traditional teaching methods to better support pre-service teachers, improving student-centered instruction and individualized classroom autonomy for students with learning disabilities, and fostering equity-based, sustainable partnerships with caregivers from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
Coral Matus, University of Toledo
Associate Professor and Associate Dean; Department of Family Medicine College of Medicine and Life Sciences
Coral D Matus, MD, FAAFP is a family physician by training, earning her undergraduate degree from the University of Toledo, her Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree from The Ohio State University, and completing her residency at Toledo Hospital Family Medicine Residency. She currently serves as the Associate Dean for Foundational Science Education at the University of Toledo College of Medicine, and co-director for the Principles of Clinical Medicine curriculum which introduces medical students to vital clinical skills during their preclinical training years. In addition to her administrative and patient care roles, she enjoys teaching in the classroom and in the clinical setting, and is always looking for (and trialing) innovative ways to engage students in learning. She was instrumental in initiating learning PODs (learning communities), which connect students across all 4 years of medical training with each other and with faculty, in order to facilitate mentoring and community. She serves as the advisor for several student clubs, including AMWA (American Medical Womens’ Association), LMSA (Latino Medical Student Association), and the Family Medicine Interest Group. She believes that future physicians have a duty to serve their community, and regularly volunteers at Compassion Health Toledo and Community Care Clinic, which provide care to uninsured and underinsured populations in Toledo. She values student wellness and resiliency and organizes a 53-mile biking event for second year medical students each year to encourage healthy lifestyle and bonding.
Catherine Pape, Bowling Green State University
Associate Teaching Professor
Catherine Pape is in her sixth year as a faculty member in the Criminal Justice Program where in addition to teaching three courses per term, she serves as the Internship Coordinator and Director of the Criminal Justice Learning Community. Recently, she was elected Second Vice President of the Midwestern Criminal Justice Association. She contributes greatly to the success of criminal justice majors in new and inviting ways. She created the first Learning Community for Criminal Justice (CJLC) students, which began in the fall of 2020 with 30 students. Today, the CJLC has over 80 students. The CJLC stands out in the BGSU network of Learning Communities to include a path for students to join in their first year and then continue throughout their entire degree plan. Students take cohort style courses each semester that fulfill requirements on their degree audit but go beyond the standard curriculum to include experiential activities. In addition to the CJLC, Catherine developed two courses that all new criminal justice students take in their first year. In the fall, students take a careers course that integrates with the University’s Life Design Initiative, wherein students participate in shadow days and interviews exploring criminal justice work. The second course, offered in spring, examines race, gender, and crime in the criminal justice system. Throughout this year, Catherine, along with a team of graduate assistants, reaches out weekly to at-risk students to provide support and connect them to campus resources so they can thrive. Another notable first for Catherine is that she codeveloped an education abroad trip to London for criminal justice majors. Through these efforts, persistence and retention rates for criminal justice majors has been at their highest levels in well over a decade.
Luis Velarde, University at Buffalo
Associate Professor of Chemistry
Luis Velarde is Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University at Buffalo (UB). He received his Ph.D. from the University of Arizona in 2008. After postdoctoral fellowships at the University of California at Santa Barbara and at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, he joined the UB faculty in 2013. Dr. Velarde is an experimental physical chemist and recipient of the National Science Foundation CAREER award. He leads a research group that develops non-invasive, laser-based, methods to examine the unique chemistry that occurs at the surfaces and interfaces of emerging sustainable materials. Through committed mentoring of a diverse group of undergraduate and graduate students, and teachers in his research lab, he focuses on developing independent scholars who can tackle difficult problems through scientific rigor and have the necessary skills to solve challenges that will benefit society and impact their local community. For about a decade, Dr. Velarde has been developing various courses in chemistry for undergraduate and graduate students, ranging from freshman seminar and general chemistry to advanced quantum mechanics and nanomaterials. He is a passionate, supportive, and caring instructor. Creating an inclusive and safe environment in which students and student-athletes can learn, grow, and foster skills has shaped his approach to mentoring. He believes this is especially important when dealing with the abstract scientific concepts in his chemistry courses. Through service in various committees and community outreach, he focuses on recruitment, mentoring, and professional development of the next generation of STEM leaders and innovators.
Dr. Camilla McMahon, Miami University
Associate Professor; Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences
Dr. Camilla McMahon is an Associate Professor of Psychological Science at Miami University. In her classroom, her goal is to maximize academic success for all students, especially students who are underprepared for college courses. She regularly utilizes metacognitive scaffolding in her courses to help students learn the process of learning course content. In 2023, she is excited to be piloting a new student mentoring program in her introductory courses, in which more advanced students provide individualized weekly coaching to every student in the course. Through both metacognitive scaffolding and peer mentoring, she hopes that students will adopt new learning strategies in her courses that will enable them to be successful throughout the college curriculum. Dr. McMahon regularly works with undergraduate student research assistants in her Autism Research Lab on projects related to increasing autism knowledge and improving peer receptivity to autistic individuals. As a result of their research in the lab, students have co-presented posters at professional conferences, such as the American Psychological Science Convention, and co-authored papers in peer-reviewed journals, including Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders and Disability & Society. Dr. McMahon recently received Miami University’s Prodesse Quam Conspici Medal, which recognizes those who “accomplish without being conspicuous”.
Dr. Harriet Lindsay, Eastern Michigan University
Professor of Chemistry
Dr. Harriet Lindsay earned her Ed.D and Ph.D. from University of Arkansas in 2001 and 2002 and has been at Eastern Michigan University since 2002. She believes strongly in the potential of mentored research experiences to engage students in college in general and in science in specific. She has received several research grants and she has mentored undergraduate and MS students in her research lab, where her work focuses on formulating new versions of chemical reactions in an effort to make them more efficient and sustainable. She incorporates original research in her organic chemistry laboratory course by designing course-based undergraduate research experiences to allow more students to participate in mentored research. Across the university, she has championed mentored undergraduate research experiences by serving as the first Faculty Associate for Undergraduate Research. In this position, she promotes the University’s undergraduate research fellowship program, chairs the committee that reviews that program’s proposals, and chairs the organizing committee for EMU’s undergraduate research and creativity symposium. Further, she has developed and directs a three-week high school summer science research program for low-income, underrepresented, or would be firstgeneration college degree obtaining high school students. She has been recognized for her work in the classroom and across campus by the EMU Excellent Teachers Engaging Alumni Award which she received 2022.
Dr. Jennifer Jacobs, Northern Illinois Unviersity
Associate Professor of Sport and Exercise Psychology
Dr. Jenn Jacobs is an associate professor of Sport and Exercise Psychology at Northern Illinois University. Her research examines the role that sport and physical activity play in fostering equity and psychosocial growth, with a particular focus on serving youth from marginalized populations. Specifically, she has developed or studied sport programs in diverse settings such as afterschool clubs, summer camps, professional sports organizations, and juvenile detention centers. Some of her most proud outreach programs include a decade-long summer camp in the Chicagoland neighborhood she grew up, a middle school girls’ body empowerment boxing club, and a multi-year international exchange program with national sport organizations in the country of Belize. Currently, she is the co-director and co-founder of Project FLEX, a program within Illinois youth prisons that uses the power of sport to teach life skills to incarcerated youth. This program helps individuals who are incarcerated reimagine their possible futures through participating in leadership opportunities, including college programming, community-based sport experiences, and sport/fitness offerings run at their prison facilities. In total, Dr. Jacobs has over 40 research publications and 70 national/international conference presentations showcasing her work. Her work has been recognized through receiving the 2021 Early Scholar Award from the Journal of Sport for Development, as well as the 2020 Young Alumni Award from the University of Illinois College of Applied Health Sciences.
Bob Samples, Western Michigan University
Faculty Specialist II and Executive in Residence; Department of Marketing
Bob Samples is currently a Tenured Faculty Specialist-II in the Marketing Department as well as the Executive in Residence for the Food Marketing program at Western Michigan University. In his role as a tenured professor at WMU Bob has taught a variety of Marketing courses since 2014 when he joined the University, including the current classes of MKTG 4940 Food Marketing Issues & Strategy, MKTG 4700 Sales & Business Marketing Strategy and MKTG 3930 Food/CPG Professional Selling. He has also taught; Consumer Behavior, Social & Digital Marketing, Marketing Principles and Marketing Strategy. Prior to joining Western Michigan, Bob has experience in executive leadership, sales, analytics and strategic planning. With thirty-three years in the consumer goods and food marketing industry Bob transitioned from an executive leadership role as VP of Sales and Marketing at Hormel's Farmer John Foods and Saag’s group in California to teaching at Western Michigan University.
Announcement Schedule...
Friday, March 3 -- 2023 Outstanding Faculty Award for Student Success Award Winner
