By Gail Hairston
(April 8, 2015) ‒ University of Kentucky’s Michael Bardo, professor of psychology in the College of Arts and Sciences has been awarded a 2015 Southeastern Conference Faculty Achievement Award.
The winners were announced by the league office today. These annual awards honor one faculty member from each SEC university who has excelled in teaching, research and scholarship.
Each award winner will become his or her university’s nominee for the 2015 SEC Professor of the Year Award and will receive a $5,000 honorarium from the SEC. The SEC Professor of the Year, to be named later this month, receives an additional $15,000 honorarium and will be recognized at the SEC Awards Dinner in May and the SEC Symposium in September.
“The SEC Faculty Achievement Awards give us a unique opportunity to not only showcase the work of our outstanding faculty members, but to also support their future research and scholarship,” said Nicholas Zeppos, chancellor of Vanderbilt University and president of the Southeastern Conference. “These 14 men and women are some of the most accomplished and influential leaders in their disciplines, and I offer each of them my sincerest congratulations.”
To be eligible for the SEC Faculty Achievement Award, a professor must be a teacher or scholar at an SEC university; have achieved the rank of full professor at an SEC university; have a record of extraordinary teaching; and a record of scholarship that is recognized nationally and/or internationally.
"Mike Bardo is a triple threat -- he is an outstanding researcher (former University Research Professor); he has won multiple awards for his mentoring, and he is a tireless contributor to the department and college. We should all 'be like Mike!'" said Robert Lorch, Chair of the Department of Psychology.
SEC Commissioner Mike Slive said, “This year’s SEC Faculty Achievement Award recipients are to be commended for their unwavering dedication to higher education. The SEC is pleased to recognize 14 individuals who have made such a positive impact on our students.”
The SEC Faculty Achievement Awards and the SEC Professor of the Year Award are both selected by SEC provosts, and the program is administered by SECU, the academic initiative of the Southeastern Conference. SECU serves as the primary mechanism through which the collaborative academic endeavors and achievements of SEC students and faculty are promoted and advanced.
Below is a list of the other 2015 SEC Faculty Achievement Award recipients.
· University of Alabama, Kimberly Bissell, professor of journalism
· University of Arkansas, H. Alan Mantooth, Distinguished Professor of Electrical Engineering
· Auburn University, Bruce Tatarchuk, Gavin Endowed Professor of Chemical Engineering
· University of Florida, Sidney Homan, professor of English
· University of Georgia, Samantha Joye, Athletic Association Professor of Arts and Sciences
· Louisiana State University, Suzanne Marchand, LSU Systems Boyd Professor of European Intellectual History
· University of Mississippi, Charles Hussey, professor of chemistry
· Mississippi State University, Mark Horstemeyer, William L. Giles Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering
· University of Missouri, Michael Smith, professor of animal sciences
· University of South Carolina, Marina Lomazov, Ira McKissick Koger Professor of Fine Arts
· University of Tennessee, J. Wesley Hines, Postelle Professor of Nuclear Engineering
· Texas A&M University, X. Ben Wu, Presidential Professor for Teaching Excellence
· Vanderbilt University, Isabel Gauthier, David K. Wilson Professor of Psychology
Using its SECU academic initiative, the Southeastern Conference sponsors, supports and promotes collaborative higher education programs and activities involving administrators, faculty and students at its fourteen member universities. The goals of the SECU initiative include highlighting the endeavors and achievements of SEC faculty and universities; advancing the merit and reputation of SEC universities outside of the traditional SEC region; identifying and preparing future leaders for high-level service in academia; increasing the amount and type of education abroad opportunities available to SEC students; and providing opportunities for collaboration among SEC university personnel.
