Past Award Recipients
Complete list of award recipients from 1990-2019.
2023-24 Awards
Program
Congratulations to the following recipients. Visit MSUToday to read about them.
Individual Award:
Dr. Kristen Cetin, Associate Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering
Dr. Kent Key, Assistant Professor, Charles Stewart Mott Department of Public Health, College of Human Medicine
Kathryn Westby, Graduate Student, Program in Mathematics Education, College of Natural Science
Team Award:
Know Your Rights Day, Nancy Costello, J.D., Associate Clinical Professor of Law, College of Law
Unit Award:
Alliance for African Partnership, represented by Drs. Amy Jamison and José Jackson-Malete, Co-Directors, International Studies and Programs
Residence Education and Housing Services, represented by Eduardo Olivo, Associate Director for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, REHS, and Christopher Stone-Sewalish, Associate Director for Administration, REHS
2022-23 Awards
Program
Congratulations to all the following winners who are deserving of this special award. Visit msu.edu to read about the recipients.
Individual Award:
Dr. Hilda Mejia Abreu, Associate Dean, Admissions, Student Life and Inclusivity, College of Veterinary Medicine
Dr. Salah Hassan, Associate Professor, Department of English, College of Arts and Letters; Director, Global Studies in the Arts and Humanities
Dr. Huey-Wen Lin, Associate Professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy/Department of Computational Mathematics, Science and Engineering, College of Natural Science
Alexander Redfern, Operations Supervisor III, Materials and Logistics Department, Infrastructure Planning and Facilities
Steven Thomas, Program Manager, Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate, Center for Academic and Future Faculty Excellence and Summer Research Opportunities Program, The Graduate School
Dr. Denise Troutman, Associate Professor, Department of Writing, Rhetoric and American Culture/Department of Linguistics, Languages and Cultures, College of Arts and Letters
Team Award:
Children and Youth Institute's LGBTQIA+ Advocacy Team, MSU Extension, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources
Unit Award:
W.K. Kellogg Biological Station
Lifetime Achievement Award:
Drs. Kurt Dewhurst and Marsha MacDowell
Dr. Kurt Dewhurst, Professor, Department of English, College of Arts and Letters; Director, Arts and Cultural Partnerships, Office for Public Engagment and Scholarship, and Senior Fellow, University Outreach and Engagement; Director Emeritum, MSU Museum; Curator, Folklife and Cultural Heritage, MSU Museum
Dr. Marsha MacDowell, Professor, Department of Art, Art History and Design, College of Arts and Letters; Director, Michigan Traditional Arts Program, Residential College in the Arts and Humanities; Director, The Quilt Index and Michigan Stained Glass Census, Matrix: Center for Digital Humanities and Social Sciences; Curator, MSU Museum
Dionardo Pizaña, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Specialist, MSU Extension, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources
2020-21 Awards
Individual Award: Emerging Progress
- Amber Benton, Director of Diversity Programming & Student Engagement, James Madison College
- Laura Scales, Academic Specialist, Department of Theatre
- Quentin Tyler, Associate Dean and Director for the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources
Individual Award: Sustained Efforts toward Excellence in Diversity
- Susan Ewart, Professor, Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences
Individual Award: Lifetime Achievement
- Dave Weatherspoon, Professor, Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics Department and Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies, Office of the Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education
Team Award: Emerging Progress
- Jessica Stokes and Michael Stokes, HIVES Research Workshop and Speaker Series
- Latinx Film Festival
Team Award: Sustained Efforts toward Excellence in Diversity
Organization Award: Excellent Progress toward Advancing Diversity within Community
2019-20 Awards
Individual Award: Emerging Progress
- Kendra Pyle, Academic Specialist, Advising, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
- Kate Sonka, Specialist Teacher-Continuing, Academic Technology
Individual Award: Sustained Efforts toward Excellence in Diversity
- Richard Bryce, Assistant Professor, Department of Family and Community Medicine
- Javier Pescador, Professor, Department of History
Individual Award: Lifetime Achievement
- Wanda Lipscomb, Senior Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion and Associate Dean for Student Affairs, Office of Diversity and Inclusion, College of Human Medicine
Team Award: Emerging Progress
- Project Biodiversify, Plant Biology, College of Natural Science
Team Award: Emerging Progress
- R-Ladies East Lansing, Pathobiology and Diagnostics Investigation, Institute for Cyber-Enabled Research
Unit Award: Lifetime Achievement
- Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities, Michael Hudson, Director
Organization Award: Excellent Progress Toward Advancing Diversity Within Community
- Women's Advisory Committee for Support Staff, Office of the Executive Vice President for Administration
2018-19 Awards
Individual Award: Emerging Progress
- David Biedenbender, assistant professor, College of Music
- Obafemi Elegbede, doctoral student, Department of Community Sustainability
- Patricia Jaimes, graduate student, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences
- Sumaya Malas, undergraduate student, James Madison College and College of Arts & Letters
- David Rothstein, professor, director, Graduate Studies, Department of Forestry
Individual Award: Lifetime Achievement
- Robert Brown, associate director, Center for Community and Economic Development, University Outreach and Engagement
Unit Award: Excellent Progress toward Advancing Diversity within Community
- Center for Research in Autism, Intellectual, and other Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (C-RAIND)
Unit Award: Excellent Progress toward Diversity Collaboration
- Infrastructure, Planning and Facilities
2017-18 Awards
Individual Award: Emerging Progress
- Demetrice Jordan, doctoral student, Environmental Science and Spatial Sciences, College of Social Science
- Gerena Walker, undergraduate student, Social Relations and Policy, James Madison College
- Hilda Mejia Abreu, assistant dean, Office of Diversity and Inclusion, Admissions and Scholarships, College of Veterinary Medicine
- Carina Mendoza, fourth year medical student, College of Human Medicine
Individual Award: Sustained Effort toward Excellence in Diversity
- Florene McGlothian-Taylor, Sergeant, Inclusion and Anti-Bias Unit, MSU Police Department
- Engineering Diversity Programs Office, College of Engineering
- Honors College
Individual Award: Advancing Global Competency: Excellent Performance in Research and Teaching
- Michael Largey, professor, Ethnomusicology, College of Music
Individual Award: Lifetime Achievement
- Kent Workman, Academic Specialist-Advisor, Lyman Briggs College
2016-17 Awards
Students Making a Difference Through Artistic Expression Award
- Gonzalo Garrido-Lecca, doctoral student, music composition, College of Music
- Sarah Palermo, masters student, music composition, College of Music
- Michael K. Wilson, doctoral student, African American and African studies, College of Arts and Letters
Honorable Mention
- Tutilo Mudumba, doctoral student, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (Visual)
- Mary Peacock, masters student, studio art, College of Arts and Letters (Visual)
- John A. Smith, doctoral student, music performance, College of Music (Performance)
- Montgomery Smith, freshman, Lyman Briggs College (Visual)
Individual Award: Emerging Progress
- Mohammad Hassan Khalil, associate professor of religious studies, director of Muslim Studies Program
Individual Award: Sustained Effort Toward Excellence in Diversity
- Judi Brown Clarke, diversity director, Bio/Computational Evolution in Action Consortium
- Deanna Hurlbert, director, LBGT Resource Center
- Jeffrey Wray, professor, Department of English, College of Arts and Letters
Team Award: Emerging Progress
- Spartan Project SEARCH, Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology and Special Education, College of Education
Team Award: Sustained Effort Toward Excellence in Diversity
- Ecological-Community Psychology, Department of Psychology, College of Social Science
Unit Award: Excellent Progress Toward Diversity Collaboration
- Native American Institute, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources
Individual Award: Lifetime Achievement
- Eunice Foster, professor, Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources
2015-16 Awards
Individuals: Emerging Progress- Alyssa Hadley Dunn
Assistant Professor, Teacher Education, College of Education - Catherine Feirer
Senior, Advertising, College of Communication Arts and Sciences - Joshua Palkki
Doctor of Philosophy, Music Education, College of Music - Raven J. Stanbrough
Doctor of Philosophy, Curriculum, Instruction, and Teacher Education
TEAMS
Emerging Progress
- MSU Adaptive Sports and Recreation Club
UNITS
Excellent Progress Toward Diversity Collaboration
- Urban Immersion Fellowship Program
College of Education
STUDENTS MAKING A DIFFERENCE THROUGH ARTISTIC EXPRESSION
- Joyce-Zoe Farley, Second-year doctoral student, African American and African Studies, “EnVISIONing and Remembering Sankofa in NYC: A digital photo project that examines memory, time, place, forgetting and African American history in New York City”
HONORABLE MENTION
- Arthur Muneza, Master’s Candidate, Fisheries and Wildlife, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources,“The Plight of Wildlife in the East African Region and the Effects of Conservation Methods”