糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Honors Boles, Skurat Harris, Siraj, Thorlton, and Rockwell as Top Faculty of 2024
The University of Arkansas at Little Rock has honored Anastasia Boles, Dr. Heidi Skurat Harris, Dr. Noureen Siraj, Kiel Thorlton, and Dr. Casey Rockwell as the winners of the 2024 Faculty Excellence Awards.
Anastasia Boles, professor of law, won the Faculty Excellence Award in Teaching, sponsored by the Bailey Family. Skurat Harris, associate professor of rhetoric and writing, has won the Faculty Excellence Award in Research and Creative Endeavors, sponsored by Dr. Jaafer Golzar and Renee Golzar, while Siraj, associate professor of chemistry, received the Faculty Excellence Award in Public Service, sponsored by the Chancellor鈥檚 Circle.
In the university鈥檚 newest Faculty Excellence categories, 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock honored Kiel Thorlton, assistant professor of mass communication, as the second recipient of the Rising Faculty Excellence Award, sponsored by Dr. Scott Bowen, as well as Rockwell, associate professor of marketing and advertising, as the second recipient of the Faculty Excellence Award in Social Justice, sponsored by Just Communities of Arkansas.
鈥淥ur recipients’ unwavering commitment to scholarship, teaching, research, public service, and social justice has significantly enriched both our institution and the wider academic sphere,鈥� Provost Ann Bain said. 鈥淥n behalf of the university, I extend heartfelt congratulations to each award recipient, expressing gratitude for epitomizing the essence of excellence that defines our institution.”
糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock annually celebrates the achievements of the top professors of the year who are making a difference in the community through their contributions in teaching, research and creative works, public service, and social justice. This is the highest honor 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock awards its faculty members. Each university-level award winning faculty member will receive a $5,000 prize.
Created in 1989, the Faculty Excellence Awards has provided a way to recognize the great work of 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock faculty for the past 35 years and is made possible through the valued contributions of the Office of the Chancellor, the Office of the Provost, the 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Chancellor鈥檚 Circle, and the Bailey Foundation.
The 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Board of Visitors selected the university-wide winners from the 19 faculty members who were selected as the top faculty members for the 2023-24 academic year in each of the five categories in their respective colleges and the William H. Bowen School of Law.
鈥淚 want to give a special thank you to the Board of Visitors,鈥� Bain said. 鈥淲e very much appreciate their dedication to this and the positive comments we鈥檝e seen from them about the dedication of our faculty members.鈥�
Faculty Excellence Award for Teaching
Anastasia Boles is a professor of law at the William H. Bowen School of Law and co-director of Bowen鈥檚 Center for Racial Justice and Criminal Justice Reform. She has been noted by fellow faculty, students, and alumni as an example of the teacher-mentor model. Boles鈥� background is in large law firm litigation, and she brings her civil litigation experiences to her classes and incorporates culturally proficient legal instruction into her courses.
鈥淧rofessor Boles exemplifies the qualities that this award recognizes,鈥� Bowen Dean Emerita Theresa Beiner said. 鈥淪he is a master teacher; an innovative teacher who incorporates culturally proficient legal instruction in her courses, creating a more inclusive and engaging experience for all of her students; and a mentor to the students in her classes as well as those who participate in her projects in Bowen鈥檚 Center for Racial Justice and Criminal Justice Reform.鈥�
Unlike most law classes, which use the Socratic method, Boles uses a panel system to call on students. This allows students to know what day they will be questioned in class and helps build student confidence.
鈥淚 am extremely honored and humbled to win this award,鈥� Boles said. 鈥淥ur students at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock are so talented. My goal as a Bowen law professor is to help them develop the lawyering skills necessary to become competent, equity-informed, and culturally competent leaders. Many students come to law school wanting to change the world, so I focus on keeping my classes interactive, grounded in social context, and full of opportunities for formative assessment.鈥�
Boles received a J.D. from Columbia Law School and a B.A. (double major) in political science and sociology from Stanford University.
Faculty Excellence Award for Research and Creative Endeavors
Dr. Heidi Skurat Harris is an associate professor and graduate coordinator in the Department of Rhetoric and Writing. With a decade of experience at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock, Harris has made significant impacts in the research field.
Her research areas of online instruction and online writing program development allow her to use her research data to improve her teaching and advising. She is also a recognized national expert on online writing instruction, editing the Bedford Bibliography of Research in Online Writing Instruction and co-authoring important works such as 鈥淢ultimedia in the College Classroom: Improve Learning and Connect with Students in Online and Hybrid Courses.鈥� She developed 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock鈥檚 Graduate Certificate for Online Writing Instruction, the only certificate of its kind in the nation.
鈥淚 am deeply passionate about online education and continually strive to enhance the student experience,鈥� Skurat Harris said. 鈥淲hether in the classroom or engaging with students online, I am committed to fostering meaningful interactions that remind students of the human connection behind the screen. When working with online students, it’s especially important to be present in the classroom and interact with students so they know there is a human behind the screen that cares about them.鈥�
Her experiences in teaching and advising online students drive her research agenda. In the last five years, Skurat Harris has published four book chapters, 12 journal articles, a bibliography, and two co-edited books. Her research further appears in books such as 鈥淔oundational Practices in Online Writing Instruction鈥� and in some of the top journals in the field, including Technical Communication Quarterly, Computers & Composition, and Communication Quarterly.
Skurat Harris received her Ph.D. in English and an M.A. in English from Ball State University, an M.A. in writing from Missouri State University, and a B.A. in English from the College of the Ozarks.
Faculty Excellence Award for Public Service
Dr. Noureen Siraj is an associate professor of chemistry at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock. She is involved in numerous organizations within and outside the university. At 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock, she serves on the Awards Committee in the Chemistry Program, the Chemical Safety Committee, the Faculty Senate Honors and Awards Committee, and the Student Research and Creative Works Committee. Outside the university, she serves as a grant proposal reviewer for many state and federal agencies including the National Science Foundation and NASA.
Since 2020, she has served as the Chemistry Olympiad Coordinator for the American Chemical Society. The Central Arkansas American Chemical Society honored her with two prestigious awards in 2023 – Central Arkansas Professor of the Year and Volunteer of the Year.
Siraj has played a significant role in the community by helping build pathways to STEM careers for underserved children in Little Rock, as well as encouraging students, especially female students, to follow their STEM-related interests. Over the past five years, Siraj has mentored 22 middle and high school students for their science fair projects, three of whom have won awards at the International Science and Engineering Fair.
鈥淚t feels wonderful to be recognized for the efforts I鈥檝e been putting in with students for many years,鈥� Siraj said. 鈥淚 try to do my best to provide students with as many opportunities as possible. I have seen many undergraduate students in Arkansas who don鈥檛 know the future of STEM majors during their studies. I work with my students very closely so that they can see the big picture and the opportunities that await them. I am very proud that some of my minority and first-generation college students who have graduated are now working at national laboratories and making a big difference for their families and in the world. I have received many blessings in my life, and I enjoy public service activities because I want to share my blessings with others.鈥�
She received a Ph.D. in chemistry from Graz University of Technology in Austria and a bachelor鈥檚 degree and master鈥檚 degree in chemistry from the University of Karachi in Pakistan.
Faculty Excellence Award for Rising Faculty
Kiel Thorlton, assistant professor in the School of Mass Communication, joined the university in 2020 and has become well known for his film work and mentoring students.
Thorlton鈥檚 film work includes writing, directing, and co-producing a feature film called 鈥淎 Place Called Home鈥� and writing episodes for the animated series, 鈥淕abriel and the Guardians.鈥� He is currently in preproduction on a second feature film, 鈥淭he Invisible,鈥� where he serves as writer, director, and co-producer.
鈥淚 am so thankful to receive this award because there are some really talented people in the rising faculty pool. In the classroom setting, I try to emphasize working with my students outside of the classroom as much as possible,鈥� said Thorlton, adding that he was headed straight to the set to help a student with his capstone project. 鈥淭here is a lot that can be learned outside the classroom when you have the opportunity and take the initiative to learn new skills.鈥�
Additionally, he is also the coordinating producer for ESPN+ and manages a student crew responsible for over 100 broadcasts a year. Thorlton received a M.F.A in film & television from Regent University and a B.A. in mass communication and theatre from Campbellsville University.