New Mexico State University kicked off the 2024-2025 academic year this week with a celebration honoring six outstanding faculty members from across the NMSU system.

More than 200 Aggies participated in NMSU's fall 2024 convocation Aug. 20 and gathered in Atkinson Recital Hall on the Las Cruces campus to cheer on the group of award winners. Interim President Mónica Torres and interim Provost Lakshmi Reddi delivered remarks before NMSU leaders handed out six honors, including the university's highest faculty award.

"This convocation is a celebration of the incredible work being done throughout our NMSU system – and the positive impact of that work – on our students, our academic disciplines, the industries we serve," Torres said. "There are many stories of the people who benefit from our service, our teaching, our research. Those are the things that we're doing at this university. We're trying to address the broad challenges and opportunities that are before us in our communities and as a global society."

Among other remarks, Torres welcomed 74 new faculty members to NMSU, congratulated 129 newly promoted faculty members and wished all Aggies a productive new school year. Classes begin Wednesday, Aug. 21.

"These are truly, I think, exciting times for NMSU," Reddi said. "Like you, I sense the excitement of the past two days as the students are moving in. I met a few of them in Corbett Center Student Union, and I can't help but notice the excitement in their eyes."

The award recipients included:

Wei Tang of NMSU's Klipsch School of Electrical and Computer Engineering received the day's top honor – the Dennis W. Darnall Faculty Achievement Award. The award recognizes recipients for remarkable, broad-based accomplishments in teaching, research and service to their profession, university and community. It is the highest honor bestowed by NMSU's provost.

Tang, the Paul W. and Valerie Klipsch Distinguished Professor, uses his research to develop innovative health care devices such as wearable cardiologists. Over his career at NMSU, he has collaborated with 18 professors from seven departments, taught eight courses and designed six new ones. He has received teaching awards from the National Science Foundation and NMSU's College of Engineering.

Three faculty members – David Bishop of NMSU Grants, Dwight Kealy of the Department of Finance and Young Lee of the Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering – received the Donald C. Roush Award for Teaching Excellence. College deans and community college directors choose award recipients based on input from department heads and students.

Bishop, who has taught mathematics for 40 years, joined NMSU Grants in 2014. Now an associate professor, he serves as the manager of the branch's Mathematics Program, in addition to teaching courses. He previously taught at Iowa Wesleyan University for 30 years.

Kealy, a college professor, teaches undergraduate and graduate courses on various topics, including business law, sports law, intellectual property law, personal financial planning and investing. His classes often feature interactive stories supplemented with comic books, news stories, videos, TikToks and detailed notes that read like scripts.

Lee, an associate professor, has taught at NMSU since 2008. Two of his courses – Aerospace Structures and Flight Dynamics and Controls – are particularly important for aeronautical engineering students. Over his teaching career, Lee has revised course materials and his teaching methods so students can experience the best learning and gain useful knowledge for their future careers.

Two faculty members – Shannon Norris-Parish of the Department of Agricultural and Extension Education and Paulette Vincent-Ruz of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry – received the Patricia Christmore Award for Teaching Excellence. The award honors junior tenure-track faculty members for engaging, inclusive and research-led teaching.

Norris-Parish, an assistant professor, teaches courses that disseminate agricultural science through oral communications, magazine production, communication campaigns and global agricultural awareness. She has earned numerous teaching awards and was included in Albuquerque Business First's "40 Under 40" list for 2023.

Vincent-Ruz, an assistant professor, specializes in chemistry education research. Her research seeks to understand systemic disadvantages that hinder marginalized students and affect their attitudes and opportunities in chemistry. She has also implemented inclusive teaching practices in her courses.

The full article can be seen at https://newsroom.nmsu.edu/news/nmsu-bestows-top-faculty-honor--teaching-awards-at-fall-2024-convocation/s/5eb4d19e-8b5b-4a56-b27d-98cdc8b88032