Chapman University recognized faculty and staff for excellence in teaching, scholarship, mentorship, service, and innovation during its annual Faculty Honors and End of Year Celebration, highlighting the accomplishments that strengthen the university’s academic mission and student experience.
The celebration featured the presentation of the Wang-Fradkin Professorships, Valerie Scudder Awards, and the Barbara Mulch Award, while also recognizing faculty members for tenure and promotion, years of service, teaching excellence, research accomplishments, creative activity, and institutional leadership.
Co-hosted by the Office of the Provost and the Faculty Senate, the event serves as Chapman’s most comprehensive recognition of faculty achievement, celebrating work that advances knowledge, inspires students, and contributes to the university community.
“What distinguishes Chapman is the caliber of our faculty and staff,” said Mike Ibba, Ph.D., executive vice president, provost and chief academic officer. “The individuals recognized through these awards represent the very best of our community. Through their contributions, they help define who we are as a university.”
Faculty Senate President Kelli Fuery, Ph.D., said the celebration provides an opportunity to recognize contributions that might otherwise go unnoticed.
“Faculty work goes far beyond the classroom and is genuinely three-dimensional,” Fuery said. “This event lets us see the whole picture of what faculty are working on and celebrate those contributions. We are a community of people who all contribute in our own ways.”
Wang-Fradkin Professorships
Among the university’s highest faculty honors, the Wang-Fradkin Professorships recognize exceptional achievement in scholarly and creative activity. Named for distinguished Chapman scholars Hua-Cheng Wang and Cheng-Mei Wang Fradkin, the professorships support faculty members whose work has made a significant impact in their fields and demonstrates continued promise for future contributions.
This year’s recipients were Gregory Goldsmith, Ph.D., associate professor of biological sciences in Schmid College of Science and Technology; Hannah Ridge, Ph.D., associate professor of English in Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences; and Richelle Tanner, Ph.D., associate professor of environmental science and policy in Schmid College and Wilkinson College.
Valerie Scudder Awards
The Valerie Scudder Awards recognize faculty members for outstanding contributions to Chapman University through teaching, scholarly and creative activity, and service. Named in honor of former Chapman Chancellor Valerie Scudder, the awards celebrate faculty whose work has made a meaningful impact on students, their disciplines, and the university community.
This year’s recipients were Jennifer Bevan, Ph.D., professor of communication studies in the School of Communication; Stephany Cuevas, Ed.D., assistant professor of education in the Donna Ford Attallah College of Educational Studies; Sally Rubin, M.A., associate professor of documentary filmmaking in Dodge College of Film and Media Arts; Aaron Schurger, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology in Crean College of Health and Behavioral Sciences; Yuxin Wen, Ph.D., assistant professor of engineering in Dale E. and Sarah Ann Fowler School of Engineering; and Sun “Coco” Yang, Ph.D., associate professor of pharmacy practice in the School of Pharmacy.
Barbara Mulch Award
Named in memory of Barbara Mulch, Ph.D., a longtime Chapman educator and administrator who championed students and faculty throughout her career, the Barbara Mulch Award recognizes staff members who go above and beyond their job responsibilities to support the university’s academic mission and faculty community.
This year’s recipient was Ashley Cosgrove, M.P.A., associate director of the Honors Program. The award honors staff members who demonstrate extraordinary dedication, service, and commitment to the success of faculty, students, and the broader Chapman community.
Award Recipients
Years of Service Recognition
Five Years
Leah Aldridge, Ph.D., assistant professor of film and media arts in Dodge College; Angelica Allen, Ph.D., assistant professor and assistant director of Africana Studies in Wilkinson College; Seth Benzell, Ph.D., assistant professor of business and economics in the Argyros College of Business and Economics; Robert Bowen, Ph.D., professor of business and economics in Argyros College; Franceli Cibrian, Ph.D., assistant professor of electrical engineering and computer science at Fowler School of Engineering; Sean Crockett, associate professor of business and economics, Smith Institute for Political Economy and Philosophy, Argyros College; Stephany Cuevas, Ed.D., assistant professor of education in Attallah College; Andres de la Torre Dubreuil, M.F.A., assistant professor of film and media arts in Dodge College; Madeline Dintzner, Ph.D., professor of pharmacy in the School of Pharmacy; Maryam Etezadbrojerdi, Ph.D., associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science in Fowler School of Engineering; Marques Green, M.F.A., assistant professor of film and media arts in Dodge College; Armen Gulian, Ph.D., professor of physics in Schmid College; Kate Hill, Ph.D., assistant professor of biological sciences in Schmid College; Renee Hudson, Ph.D., assistant professor of English and director of the Latinx and Latin American Studies Program in Wilkinson College; John Hunter, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychology in Crean College; Susan Isaacs, M.F.A., assistant professor of film and media arts in Dodge College; Susan Jane Jollineau, Ph.D., professor of business and economics in Argyros College; Minju Kwon, Ph.D., assistant professor of political science in Wilkinson College; Kyle Longley, Ph.D., Henry Salvatori Professor of American Values and Traditions and director of the War, Diplomacy, and Society Program in Wilkinson College; Nasim Mohammadi Estakhri, Ph.D., assistant professor of electrical engineering and computer science in Fowler School of Engineering and physics in Schmid College; Rachita Sumbria, Ph.D., professor of pharmacy in the School of Pharmacy; Sherry Wang, Ph.D., assistant professor of pharmacy in the School of Pharmacy; Miyuki Weldon, M.S., instructor in Fowler School of Engineering; and Yuxin Wen, Ph.D., assistant professor of electrical engineering and computer science in Fowler School of Engineering.
10 Years
Matthew Leifer, Ph.D., associate professor of physics in Schmid College
15 Years
Kelli Fuery, Ph.D., professor of creative and cultural industries, Wilkinson College; Hillard Kaplan, Ph.D., professor of health economics and anthropology with appointments to the Economic Science Institute, Argyros College, and the School of Pharmacy; Travis Knox, B.F.A., associate professor of film and media arts in Dodge College; and Daniel Kovenock, Ph.D., professor with appointments to the Economic Science Institute and Argyros College
20 Years
Arthur Kraft, Ph.D., Barbara Bush Chair in International Business and professor of business and economics in Argyros College; Roxanne Greitz Miller, Ed.D., Donna Ford Attallah Endowed Professorship in Teacher Education and professor of education at Attallah College with a joint appointment in Schmid College; and Charu Sinha, Ph.D., associate professor and academic director of the Master of Science in Business Analytics Program in Argyros College
Tenure and Promotion Awards
Promoted to Full Professor
- Quaylan Allen, Ph.D., education, Donna Ford Attallah College of Educational Studies
- Julia Boehm, Ph.D., psychology, Crean College of Health and Behavioral Sciences
- Rebecca Forster, Ph.D., communication, School of Communication
- Rosalee Hellberg, Ph.D., food science, Schmid College of Science and Technology
- Jeffrey Holmes, D.M.A., music, College of Performing Arts
- Whitney McIntyre Miller, Ph.D., leadership studies, Donna Ford Attallah College of Educational Studies
- Niklas Myhr, Ph.D., clinical professor of marketing, Argyros College of Business and Economics
- Matthew Selove, Ph.D., professor of marketing, Argyros College of Business and Economics
- Rachita Sumbria, Ph.D., professor of pharmaceutical sciences, School of Pharmacy
Awarded Tenure and Promoted to Associate Professor
- Tara Barnhart, Ph.D., teacher education, Attallah College
- Yashar Barardehi, Ph.D., finance, Argyros College
- Jennifer Kong, Ph.D., special education, Attallah College
- Yoshika Masuda, D.M.A., string studies, College of Performing Arts
- Aaron Schurger, Ph.D., psychology, Crean College
- Tom Springer, Ph.D., engineering, Fowler School of Engineering
- Richelle Tanner, Ph.D., environmental science and policy, Schmid and Wilkinson Colleges
- Lindsay Waldrop, Ph.D., biological sciences, Schmid College
Awarded Tenure
- Marc Callahan, D.M.A., associate professor of opera, College of Performing Arts
- Stefan Ionescu, Ph.D., associate professor of history, Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
- Mort Nathan, M.F.A., associate professor of television writing and producing, Dodge College of Film and Media Arts
- Julie Shafer, M.F.A., associate professor of art, Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
Promoted to Associate Professor
- Gary Fong, Pharm.D., associate professor of pharmacy practice, School of Pharmacy
- Nahal Kazemi, J.D., associate professor of law, Dale E. and Sarah Ann Fowler School of Law
Promoted to Instructional Associate Professor
- Maryam Etezadbrojerdi, Ph.D., instructional associate professor of engineering, Dale E. and Sarah Ann Fowler School of Engineering
- Jorge Facio Rodriguez, Ph.D., instructional associate professor of education, Donna Ford Attallah College of Educational Studies
- Cristina Fuentes, Ph.D., instructional associate professor of Spanish, Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
- Kate Hill, Ph.D., instructional associate professor of biology, Schmid College of Science and Technology
- Manjari Murali, Ph.D., instructional associate professor of health sciences, Crean College of Health and Behavioral Sciences
- Janice Park, D.M.A., instructional associate professor of music, College of Performing Arts
Promoted to Clinical Associate Professor
- Neeloufar Fakourfar, Pharm.D., clinical associate professor of pharmacy practice, School of Pharmacy
- Hindu Rao, Pharm.D., clinical associate professor of pharmacy practice, School of Pharmacy
Teaching and Mentorship Awards
- Marc Callahan, D.M.A., Robert and Norma Lineberger Endowed Chair in Music, associate professor in College of Performing Arts
- Jeremy Hsu, Ph.D., associate professor of biological sciences, Schmid College
- Sherry Yun Wang, Ph.D., assistant professor of pharmacy, School of Pharmacy
Unit Excellence Awards
- Ian Barnard, Ph.D., professor of English, Wilkinson College – scholarship, teaching and service
- Jen Bevan, Ph.D., professor of communication studies, School of Communication – scholarship and teaching
- Julye Bidmead, Ph.D., associate professor of religious studies, Wilkinson College – teaching and service
- Stephany Cuevas, Ed.D., assistant professor of education in Attallah College – scholarship, teaching and service
- Jill Dunham, Ph.D., associate professor of mathematics, Schmid College – teaching
- LL Hodges, Ph.D., assistant professor of history, Wilkinson College – teaching
- Angela Lederach, Ph.D., assistant professor of peace studies, Wilkinson College – scholarship and teaching
- Suzanne Lysak, B.S., associate professor of film and media arts, Dodge College – scholarship, teaching and service
- Wilson Mendieta, M.F.A., associate professor of dance, College of Performing Arts – scholarship, teaching and service
- Niklas Myhr, Ph.D., professor of marketing, Argyros College – teaching
- Sally Rubin, M.A., associate professor of documentary filmmaking, Dodge College – scholarship, teaching and service
- Aaron Schurger, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology, Crean College – scholarship, teaching and service
- Charu Sinha, Ph.D., associate professor, Argyros College – service
- Matthew Selove, Ph.D., professor of marketing, Argyros College – scholarship
- Anne Walsh, M.M.Sc., professor of physician assistant studies, clinical faculty, Crean College – scholarship, teaching and service
- Richelle Tanner, Ph.D., associate professor of environmental science and policy, Schmid College – scholarship, teaching and service
- Yuxin Wen, Ph.D., assistant professor of electrical engineering and computer science, Fowler School of Engineering – scholarship, teaching and service
- Sun “Coco” Yang, Ph.D., associate professor of pharmacy practice, School of Pharmacy – scholarship, teaching and service
- Cassandra Zalman, Ph.D., associate professor of biological sciences, Schmid College – teaching and service
Research and Creative Activities Course Grants
- Amy Moors, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology, Crean College – “Qualitative Research Methods in Psychology”
- Yiran “Ella” Wang, Ph.D., assistant professor of chemistry, Schmid College – “Creating a New Chemistry Course”
- Tammy Yi, Ed.D., associate professor of conservatory music, College of Performing Arts – “Research Methods in the Arts”
Pedagogical Innovation Grants
- Jennifer Ko, Pharm.D., assistant professor of pharmacy practice, School of Pharmacy – “Caring for Underserved Populations”
- Brittany Lee, Ph.D., assistant professor of communication sciences and disorders, Crean College – “Assessing Communication in Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children”
- Alison McKenzie, Ph.D., D.P.T., professor of physical therapy, Crean College – “Bringing Anatomy Back to Life”
- Samuel Stein, Ph.D., assistant professor of environmental science, Schmid College – “The Living Laboratory”
- Jennifer Totonchy, Ph.D., associate professor of pharmacy, associate dean of research and graduate studies, School of Pharmacy – “Creating a New Chemistry Course”
On-Campus Conference Awards
- Zhen Cong, Ph.D., chair and professor of health sciences, Crean College, and Seung Hee Kim, Ph.D., associate professor of computational and data science, Schmid College – “International Workshop on Aviation Meteorology”
- Alison McKenzie, Ph.D., D.P.T., professor of physical therapy, Crean College – “Human Anatomy Education Training Workshop”
- Keykavous Parang, Ph.D., professor of pharmacy and chemistry in the School of Pharmacy and Schmid College, and Enrique Seoane-Vazquez, Ph.D., professor of pharmacy, School of Pharmacy and Economic Science Institute – “The Fight Against Infectious Disease: Addressing the Challenges of Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria”
Co-Teaching Awards
- Anna Leahy, Ph.D., professor of English, and Claudine Jaenichen, M.A., professor of art, Wilkinson College – “Texts and Designs in Literary Culture”
- Samuel Stein, Ph.D., assistant professor, environmental science, Schmid College, and Kyle Harp-Rushing, Ph.D., assistant professor of environmental policy, Wilkinson College – “Mixed Methods in Environmental Statistics”
SOARS Awards
The Leatherby Libraries’ Support for Open Access Research and Scholarship (SOARS) program helps Chapman faculty share their research and creative work with a wider audience. By supporting publication in open-access journals, the program makes scholarship freely available to readers around the world.
- Hamidreza Montazeri Aliabadi, Ph.D., associate professor of pharmacy and director of graduate programs, School of Pharmacy
- Albert Bach, Pharm.D., associate professor of pharmacy practice, and director of clinical examinations and simulations, School of Pharmacy
- Kamaljit Kaur, Ph.D., associate professor of pharmacy, School of Pharmacy
- Joshua Fisher, Ph.D., associate professor of environmental science, Schmid College
- Amy Kang, Pharm.D., associate professor of pharmacy practice, School of Pharmacy
- Uri Maoz, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology, Crean College; biological sciences, Schmid College; electrical engineering and computer science, Fowler School of Engineering
- Hannah Ridge, Ph.D., assistant professor of English, Wilkinson College
- Jennifer Robinette, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychology, Crean College
- Moom Roosan, Ph.D., associate professor of pharmacy, School of Pharmacy
- Melissa Rowland-Goldsmith, Ph.D., professor of biological sciences, Schmid College, and health sciences, Crean College, and faculty fellow in the Center for Excellence in Teaching
- Natalia Sanchez, Ph.D., assistant professor of physical therapy, Crean College, and electrical engineering and computer science in Fowler School of Engineering
- Gennady Verkhivker, Ph.D., professor of computational and data science, Schmid College
- Sherry Yun Wang, Ph.D., assistant professor of pharmacy, School of Pharmacy
