In lieu of the public ceremony, the university will honor our outstanding faculty through digital means.

Plans are currently underway and will be shared with the public in a timely manner.

To learn how the university is doing to prioritize the health of our students, faculty, staff, and community, follow the COVID-19 updates.

To get the latest news about 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock, go to University News.

The post Faculty Excellence ceremony canceled; plans to honor faculty underway appeared first on Faculty Excellence.

Lee gives 鈥渉igh priority鈥� to his teaching performance, which is reflected in his excellent student evaluation scores. He has taught Heat Transfer and Capstone Design, two of the more difficult mechanical systems courses. He has refreshed several other courses in the curriculum, including Computational Fluid Dynamics and Advanced Fluid Mechanics.

Lee uses his own real-life experiences as examples in the classroom and enjoys helping students understand new concepts and establish strong foundations to build their future careers. He contributed to the development of the Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Systems Engineering at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock and developed courses in fluid mechanics and computational fluid mechanics.

Examples of Lee鈥檚 mentorship lie in the accomplishments of two of his students who excelled under his mentorship. One student was awarded the Signature Experience Project grant for research in 2018, and the other was a participant in the Summer Undergraduate Program of Entrepreneurship and Research in 2015. Lee has been a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) since 2010. He was awarded two grants from NASA in 2015 and 2017 and has two patents pending.

Lee holds a Ph.D. in Mechatronic Systems Engineering from Simon Fraser University in Canada; an M.S. in Aeronautics and Astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; and a B.S. in Mechanical Design from Yonsei University in South Korea.

The post Dr. Jin Wook Lee appeared first on Faculty Excellence.

Johnston works to 鈥渓ight many fires鈥� in her students and motivate them to learn. She uses assessment, student interaction, and an applied teaching style. She works hard to make sure her classes are accessible to all students, particularly those with disabilities. She worked with World Services for the Blind to learn more about integrating universal design practices into her content delivery.

In addition to communication courses, Johnston works with students seeking a minor in information technology. She believes staying abreast of emerging practices in the field of communication. She conducts her own research to help students understand the impact of communication in technology. She encourages students to improve their communication skills and participate in service learning opportunities.

Johnston is a member of the Academy for Teaching and Learning Excellence (ATLE) at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock and was awarded the Professional Faculty Member of the Year for College of Professional Studies award in 2014. The following year, she was awarded the College Level Community Outreach Award.

She has conducted communication training events and workshops with 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock鈥檚 Panhellenic Council; Donaghey College of Engineering and Information Technology (EIT) and Welcome Week New Student Orientations. She is enthusiastic about sharing the value of communication with the community through organizations like the American Heart Association, Service Match Academy, and her church.

Johnston is a 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock alumna who holds an M.A. in Interpersonal and Organizational Communication and a B.A. in Speech Communication.

The post Professor Cheryl Johnston appeared first on Faculty Excellence.

Dr. Hakutani鈥檚 students have noted and lauded his energy and humor in the classroom, and his high teaching standards. His peers have commented on his ability to train and develop fairly limited pianists into gifted pianists who have gone on to master extraordinarily difficult pieces on par with students at some of the most outstanding institutions in the nation.

Hakutani is praised for his work in his private studio, a powerful recruitment tool for the Department of Music, where he mostly works with children and teenagers in the central Arkansas area. He has been called the most sought out private piano instructor in the central Arkansas region. In 2016, Hakutani won the Arkansas Music Teacher Association (ASMTA) Teacher of the Year award for his work with his studio. He is heavily involved in local piano studies outside the university, and he has participated actively in the Music Teachers Association of Central Arkansas (MTACA).

Hakutani is well known internationally and has performed in various countries, including China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, and Mexico. In the fall of 2014, he was a visiting professor at a university in South Korea. He taught master classes in China, and his work resulted in Chinese students coming to study at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock. He is so well known in Japan that Japanese instructors have recommended that their students attend 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock for the purpose of studying with Hakutani.

Mentoring students is a signature part of Hakutani鈥檚 work as a professor. One of his students received a 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Signature Experience Award, a $1,000 grant for undergraduate students to help fund a project or activity. Another student was nominated for the prestigious Whitbeck Memorial Award, an honor given to one outstanding graduating senior. Several of his pre-collegiate students have won Young Artist Competitions sponsored by the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, and multiple students have won Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) awards.

Hakutani earned a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Texas at Austin; a Master of Music from Indiana University at Bloomington; and a Bachelor of Music from Northwestern University.

The post Dr. Naoki Hakutani appeared first on Faculty Excellence.

In the classroom, Gustafson believes that teaching is more of a conversation than a presentation. She demonstrates this through responsible leadership and by listening to her students. In her Research, Writing, and Analysis course, she creates a safe space for students and frequently meets with them to help them improve their writing skills. She also provides valuable feedback and encourages open dialogue with her students, while allowing them to explore their own unique abilities. Gustafson believes in respectfully challenging her students and helping them build confidence. Even outside of the classroom, she tries to make herself available as a 鈥渟houlder to cry on鈥� for her students and support them through their law school journey.

She was awarded the Bowen School of Law Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award in 2004 and again in 2014. She has written several published articles and presented at numerous national conferences. Gustafson is a member of the Legal Writing Institute (LWI) and the Association of Legal Writing Directors (ALWD) for which she has served on several committees. She is an advocate for students and successfully supported the highly controversial Bowen School of Law grading policy change to allow courses that use criterion-referenced grading, an exemption from the mandatory mean. She willingly discussed the proposal in an open forum, educating faculty and students on how criterion-referenced grading measures student-learning outcomes.

Gustafson received a Juris Doctor and a B.A. from Brigham Young University.

The post Professor Lindsey Gustafson appeared first on Faculty Excellence.

Working in the 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Simulation Center, Carmack enjoys using simulation as pedagogy, not limited to a podium or PowerPoint. He uses students鈥� incorrect answers in class as opportunities to address knowledge gaps. He is enthusiastic about these moments, using them as chances to make connections with students. He strongly believes in the importance of hands-on experience.

Carmack developed an elective course, Standardized Participants in Simulation, as part of the nursing curriculum. It is the only course of its kind and gives students simulation experience both as actors and behind the scenes. Carmack also trains faculty and others on how to give a valuable simulation experience.

He received the Excellence in Teaching Award from the National Society of Leadership and Success (NSLS) in 2018. He has also earned the Graduation and Retention Advocate Award from 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock and the Anthony Battaglia Pocket Nurse Scholarship from the International Nursing Association for Clinical Simulation and Learning (INACSL). He is a member of INASCL, Society for Simulation in Healthcare, and Sigma Theta Tau International. Carmack has participated in the 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Flu Vaccine Campaign since 2014 and served on committees for the Arkansas State Board of Nursing鈥檚 Simulation ad hoc rules.

Carmack holds a Doctor of Nursing Practice from Gardner-Webb University and a Master of Science in Nursing from the University of Central Arkansas. He is also a 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock alumnus with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and an Associate of Science in Nursing.

The post Dr. Jeffrey K. Carmack appeared first on Faculty Excellence.

Prior to coming to 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock, Bajwa worked in management and supply chain planning for several years including working at Unilever Pakistan and Savola, the leading strategic investment holding group for food and retail in the Middle East, North Africa, and Turkey. Bajwa uses his experience to tailor his courses to best meet the needs of his students. He is actively involved in course development, syllabi review, and improving delivery methods.

He believes in keeping his students engaged and motivated and gives feedback and positive reinforcement. In return, Bajwa receives consistently high review scores on student evaluations. He uses feedback from the evaluations to improve his course content and delivery. In 2015, he received the Graduation and Retention Advocate Award at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock.

He has peer-reviewed several research publications and presented at national conferences. He is a member of the Production and Operations Management Society; Decisions Sciences Institute; Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS); and Beta Gamma Sigma, an exclusive business honor society.
Bajwa was a board member of Arkansas Interfaith Light and Power from 2015 to 2017. He conducted workshops at Economics Arkansas from 2014 to 2017 and has worked with the Arkansas Food Bank and Arkansas Children鈥檚 Hospital.

Bajwa has a Ph.D. in Operations Management from the University of Alabama, an MBA from the University of Management Sciences in Pakistan, and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Engineering and Technology in Pakistan.

The post Dr. Ahmad Naeem Bajwa appeared first on Faculty Excellence.

Yang strives to produce quality, meaningful research and has published more than 100 research articles and earned eight 鈥渂est paper鈥� awards. Her goal is to 鈥渂uild a strong research agenda that tackles current challenges in bioinformatics and data science fields.鈥� Yang established the Systems Genomics Laboratory at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock to conduct research and train a new generation of scientists. She enjoys mentoring students and supporting them in their research endeavors.

Yang became the director of the Joint Bioinformatics Program of 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, a partnership that has proved highly productive and rewarding. Her contributions to the field laid the groundwork for high-level research development and scientific training in the region.

In 2017, she served as a visiting associate professor in the Department of Genetics at Yale. That same year, Yang received two awards for her research and was elected to the boards of directors of the MidSouth Computational Biology and Bioinformatics Society. She is a member of Sigma Xi: The Scientific Research Society; the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE); Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), MidSouth Conference on Computational Biology and Bioinformatics (MCBIOS); and is a Fellow of the International Society of Intelligent Biological Medicine (ISIBM).

Yang has a Ph.D. in Computational Science in Biological Physics, an M.S. in Experimental Solid State Physics, and a master鈥檚 degree in computer engineering from Purdue University; and a B.S. in Applied Engineering Physics from Hunan University in China.

The post Dr. Mary Yang appeared first on Faculty Excellence.

She is a premier scholar specializing in violence and victimology in the criminal justice field. She has published more than 20 articles in peer-reviewed journals, completed two books with one in the works, and secured multiple grants. She serves on various department, college, and university committees and takes time to mentor students.

Dr. ten Bensel was awarded the College of Social Sciences and Communication Innovative Program Award for the Juvenile Justice Mentoring Program through 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock. This program is a year-long service learning class in which college students mentor at-risk youth assigned to boot camp.

Dr. ten Bensel is a founding and current board member of Sex Offense Policy Research, a national organization that focuses on policy research in sexual offending and victimization. She is a member of the Coalition for Juvenile Justice (CJJ), the American Society of Criminology (ASC), and several other societies and associations in her field.

In 2018, ten Bensel was awarded the Educator of the Year award by the Single Parent Scholarship Foundation of Arkansas. In addition, she was accepted into the Women in Education Leadership program at the Harvard Business School. She also chaired 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock鈥檚 Take Back the Night event to raise awareness of sexual assault and domestic violence.

Dr. ten Bensel received her Ph.D. in Criminology and Criminal Justice from the University of Nebraska Omaha. She is a 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock alumna with a B.A. in Philosophy and a B.A. and M.A. in Criminal Justice.

The post Dr. Israt 鈥淭usty鈥� ten Bensel appeared first on Faculty Excellence.

Between 2013 and 2018, she produced 50 publications, 70 presentations, and three books. She reviewed articles for six academic journals and served as editor for nine newsletters. She is actively engaged in translating research to practice for educators.

Since coming to 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock, she has engaged in many sustained research activities. She also served as interim associate dean of the College of Education and Health Professions in 2014.

MacFarlane has received national and international recognition in the Gifted Education field. Some of her awards include the Early Leader award for the field from the National Association for Gifted Children in 2018, the Wedge Distinguished Scholar award at Western Kentucky University in 2017, and the Challenger Award from the Arkansans for Gifted and Talented Education Association in 2016.

MacFarlane earned the Faculty Excellence Award for Excellence in Research for the then College of Education in 2014. She is a lifetime member of the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) and a member of various other organizations in her field.

MacFarlane holds a Ph.D. in Educational Philosophy, Planning and Leadership from the College of William and Mary, a Master of Education in Counseling from Stephens College, and a Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction and a B.S. in Secondary Education from the University of Missouri.

The post Dr. Bronwyn MacFarlane appeared first on Faculty Excellence.