Awards and Recognition

The National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health (NPWH) awarded Clinical Associate Professor Nasra Giama the 2020 WHO Dedicated Year of the Nurse and the Midwife Award. The award is a first of its kind and will only be recognized in 2020, the WHO dedicated Year of the Nurse and Midwife. Giama received the award at the NPWH 23rd Premier Annual Women’s Healthcare Conference in October.

Calvin Phillips will join the University as vice president for student affairs and dean of students, on March 1, pending Board of Regents approval. Phillips comes to the U of M from Eastern Michigan University, where he has served as associate vice president of student affairs since 2014. In this role, he has provided leadership and management of several offices that plan and administer non-academic and co-curricular aspects of the student experience. Prior to joining Eastern Michigan, Phillips served as vice president for student affairs at Northern State University in Aberdeen, SD. He also held positions at the University of Texas-Pan American, Winston-Salem State University, University of Northern Iowa, Shippensburg University, and Slippery Rock University. Phillips earned a Bachelor of Science in secondary education social studies from Oklahoma State University, a Master of Arts in student personnel from Slippery Rock University, and a Doctor of Education in administration and leadership studies from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Brian Steffenson is quoted in a Minnesota Public Radio story about a new game changing technology in the fight against wheat disease; Michael Osterholm is quoted in the Washington Post about vaccine stumbles 'out of the gate' because Trump officials refused to consult with Biden team; Pinar Karaca-Mandic is quoted in the New York Times about the WHO landing in China to begin tracing the origins of the coronavirus; Jigna Desai is quoted in a USA Today story about the outcry about Kumail Nanjiani's sculpted body and what it tells us about racism and masculinity standards; Christopher Federico writes in the New York Times about the “white riot” at the U.S. Capitol; Theresa Glomb is quoted in the Mpls St. Paul Magazine story, “The Future of Twin Cities Office Space”; Jane Kirtley is quoted in the Star Tribune about the move of social media firms to ban Trump in the wake of the Capitol insurrection; David Perry writes at CNN about the dramatic reform needed within America's education system.
 

Melissa Anderson, Professor of Higher Education in the Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy and Development, has been elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the world’s largest multidisciplinary scientific society. The honor is for “seminal contributions to the science of research integrity and to the study of scientists and higher education, and for excellence in fostering responsible conduct.”

Dante Cicchetti, McKnight Presidential Chair and professor in the Institute of Child Development (ICD), and Megan Gunnar, Regents Professor and Distinguished McKnight University Professor in ICD, have received lifetime achievement awards from the Association for Psychological Science (APS). Cicchetti and Gunnar were among only 11 psychological scientists who received 2021 APS lifetime achievement awards, which honor the field’s most accomplished and respected scientists.

Brian Sick, associate professor and director of the Division of General Internal Medicine in the Medical School and director of Interprofessional Education for Academic Health Sciences Education, was elected as a Distinguished Fellow for the National Academies of Practice. This honor goes to people who have an exemplary career of ten years or more and who have made significant contributions to interprofessional healthcare.

The Water Council has announced seven new members: Catherine Bruns, Communication Studies; Afton Clark-Sather, Geography (UMD); Andy Erickson, St. Anthony Falls Laboratory, College of Science and Engineering; Diana Karwan, Department of Forest Resources; Bonnie Keeler, Humphrey School of Public Affairs; Crystal Ng, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences; Nicholas Phelps, Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Minnesota Aquatic Invasive Species Research Center. Their three-year term begins Jan. 2021.

Minnesota Physician Publishing has featured several U of M Health Sciences experts in their most recent issue - "100 Most Influential Health Care Leaders." The edition profiles 100 of the state’s most influential health care leaders. Featured experts include:

Bobbi Daniels
Mary Jo Kreitzer
James Hereford
Mike Osterholm
Paula Tehrmulen
John Thomas
Jakub Tolar
John Finnegan

The University of Minnesota Twin Cities has been named 11th in the top 20 wheelchair friendly campuses across the country by Wheels on Campus, a publication of New Mobility Magazine. Donna Johnson, the director for the Disability Resource Center says, "We want to go beyond the letter of the law and really implement the spirit of the law.”

Chris Leighton is quoted in a Mpls St Paul Magazine story about a U of M discovery that could make iron pyrite the next important metal; Zach Portman is quoted in the New York Times about how you can help count and conserve native bees; Ashish Gupta is quoted in the NBC Today story, “Girl, 4, donates bone marrow to save baby brother”; Kate Brauman is quoted in Cosmos Magazine about ecosystem services; Multiple U of M leaders including Joan Gabel are quoted in a Star Tribune story about the U of M’s consideration of a tuition-free program for students whose families make $50,000 or less; Dimple Patel talked with KARE 11 about the “Fauci Effect” and the surge in medical school applicants; Stephen Schondelmeyer is quoted in MedPage Today about drug supply chain problems; Bonnie Keeler is quoted at Minnesota Public Radio about water protection rollbacks.