Missouri State University’s Judith Enyeart Reynolds College of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (RCASH) continued its tradition of honoring the legacy of Judith Enyeart Reynolds with the Third Annual Judy Awards May 3, 2024.
The event, held at The Old Glass Place, celebrated the achievements of faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends within the RCASH community.
A special moment of the celebration included recognizing MSU President Clif Smart and Gail Smart and then Dr. George Connor, professor of political science. All three received the Dean’s Legacy Award from Dean Shawn Wahl. Smart is set to retire on June 30. The legacy leadership and work of each recipient will continue to make a difference in the lives of RCASH members for generations to come.
Christopher DePriest, Mark Templeton, and Rob and Sally Baird were each honored with the Dean’s Champion Award. All have diligently worked, often behind the scenes, to positively impact RCASH.
MSU Alum Austin Elliott accepted the Dean’s Alumnus Award on behalf of Locke and Stache, a production company located in Springfield, Missouri. Locke and Stache was recognized for their exceptional achievements in video production.
The award ceremony concluded with The School of Criminology and Criminal Justice receiving the Dean’s Award of Distinction for excellent performance as an academic unit over the past year.
Named in honor of Reynolds, a dedicated staff member and role model for many years in the Department of English, the Judy Awards cover a variety of contributions to the college, ranging from traditional awards in teaching, research, and service to those that recognize collaboration, inclusive engagement and efforts to highlight the pillars of the University’s public affairs mission.
Except for the dean’s awards category, winners were nominated either by their peers or self-nominated, then selected by representatives from each academic department serving on the Judy Awards Selection Committee.
Hosts Dr. Alan Tinkler, Dr. Aida Hass-Wisecup and Mary Lynne Golden announced the following winners of the 2024 Judy Awards.
2024 Judy Award Winners
Staff Impact Award
Jodi McCoy
Outstanding Graduate Student Research Award
Samara Mizutani Cesar
Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award
Alyssa Mallory
Community Citizenship Award
Paula Rector
Interdisciplinary Collaboration Award
The Show Me Multiliteracy Team: Andrea Hellman, Angela Bell, Ximena Uribe-Zarain, Jeff Loughary, Heather Lecureux, Brianne Loughary, Pamela Correll, Balazs Faa, Kayla Lewis, Carla Owen
Inclusive Engagement Award
Judith Martinez
Outstanding Teaching in the Arts Award
Jon Mabee
Outstanding Teaching in the Humanities Award
Heidi Backes
Outstanding Teaching in the Social Sciences Award
Jennifer LaPrade
Outstanding Research in the Arts Award
James Parsons
Outstanding Research in the Humanities Award
John Chuchiak
Outstanding Research in the Social Sciences Award
Alicia Walker
Dean’s Judy Awards
Dean’s Legacy Awards
Gail and Clif Smart
George Connor
Dean’s Champion Awards
Christopher DePriest
Mark Templeton
Sally and Rob Baird
Dean’s Alumnus Award
Locke and Stache
(MSU Alum Austin Elliott)
Dean’s Award of Distinction
School of Criminology and Criminal Justice
(Represented by Aida Hass-Wisecup, Samara Mizutani Cesar, Jennifer LaPrade, Brett Garland, Bill Sandel, Cheryl Davis, Paula Rector and Christy Titus.)
Learn more about the Judy Awards
All photos credit to Jesse Scheve and Kevin White / Missouri State University.