Contact: Aspen Harris

STARKVILLE, Miss.—Mississippi State is honoring exceptional faculty and staff with annual awards for their outstanding teaching, mentoring and advising of students at the university.

“This year’s faculty and staff honorees stand out because of the sincerity of the heartfelt comments made in the nomination letters by fellow faculty members and students. The honorees’ impressive and noble work is moving, and they are all extremely deserving recipients of these awards,” said Executive Vice Provost Peter Ryan, who also serves as dean of the Graduate School. “It’s great to see so many early-career teachers excel. They’ve hit the ground running, and they serve as an impetus for their peers be successful and pick up momentum in a culture of excellence in teaching and advising.”

This year’s honorees include:

Alumni Association Graduate and Professional Teaching Excellence Award

—Harish Chander, associate professor, Department of Kinesiology, College of Education.

Alumni Association Outstanding Graduate Student Mentor

—Hasan Tekedar, assistant research professor, Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine.

Donald Zacharias Early Career Undergraduate Teaching Excellence Award

—Zachary Gillen, assistant professor, Department of Kinesiology, College of Education.

—Aaron Grimes, instructor, Shackouls Technical Communication Program, Bagley College of Engineering.

—Aswathy Rai, assistant teaching professor, Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Entomology and Plant Pathology, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

—Sheida Riahi, instructor, Department of Marketing, Quantitative Analysis and Business Law, College of Business.

—Jennifer Sexton, assistant professor, Department of Management and Information Systems, College of Business.

—Benjamin Tkach, associate professor, Department of Political Science, College of Arts and Sciences.

—David Wallace, assistant clinical professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Bagley College of Engineering.

Irvin Atly Jefcoat Excellence in Advising Staff Recipient

—Kylie Crossland, program coordinator, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Bagley College of Engineering.

Irvin Atly Jefcoat Excellence in Advising Faculty Recipient

—Julie Jessop, professor, associate director and Hunter Henry Chair, Dave C. Swalm School of Chemical Engineering, Bagley College of Engineering.

Foil-Wyatt Outstanding New Faculty Advisor              

—OP McCubbins, associate professor, School of Human Sciences, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences.

Wesley Ammon Outstanding New Staff Advisor

—Alison Stamps, academic coordinator and advisor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Bagley College of Engineering.

Center for Distance Education Online Teaching Excellence Award

—Sheida Riahi, instructor, Department of Marketing, Quantitative Analysis and Business Law, College of Business.

Mississippi State University is taking care of what matters. Learn more at www.msstate.edu.