Tiger Awards/State of the University Recap

Posted on Friday, May 03, 2019

Texas Southern honored its own last week, highlighting faculty and staff excellence, Tiger spirit in relation to the University’s Top 5 priorities, and years of service. The 2nd annual Tiger Awards and State of the University event brought together TSU faculty, staff and students in Sawyer Auditorium.
Arbolina Jennings, assistant professor of English, and Emlyn Norman, assistant professor of accounting, both earned 45-year service awards, along with the distinction of working for TSU in five decades.
“To put that in perspective, I was three years old when they started at Texas Southern,” said TSU President Dr. Austin A. Lane. “That definitely deserves recognition, and that is what the Tiger Awards is all about – shining a spotlight on the best of the best.”
 
Award winners included:
 
Staff Excellence: Jewel Rahimizadeh (customer service); Elias Hailu (leadership); Department of Social Work (team spirit); Kyla Smith (rising star); and Helen Pittman-Cockrell (staff member of the year).
Faculty Excellence: Dr. Grace Loudd (McCleary Teaching Excellence Award); Dr. Alamelu Sundarsan (Scholar of the Year); Health, Kinesiology and Sport Studies (Provost’s Department of the Year); and Constance Fain (Presidential Achievement Medal).
The Tiger Spirit Awards honored all members of the Tiger community, including students, for their excellence in advancing the Top 5 priorities of TSU. This included:
 
Student Success & Completion: Aaron Dallas (student), Brian Armstrong, Dr. Charlene James, Yvonne Valentine, and Benjamin Mbah Acha (student)
Academic Program Quality & Research: Esther Sey (student), Dr. Zantel Nichols, and the grant-funded Cancer Research Prevention Institute of Texas team from the College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences.
Culture: Dr. Raijanel Crockem, James Upshaw, Deshaun Walker, Earlie Hudnall, Ana Flores, Reginald Coleman, Isoke Frank-Williams, and Dr. Carla Brailey.
Partnerships: Andreaus Boise-Fontenot and Curtissia Verge
Finances: Linda Ballard and Dantes Davis
 
To see the full list of nominees for the Faculty Excellence, Staff Excellence and Tiger Spirit Awards (click), as well as the Service Award honorees, (click).
Dr. Lane gave his annual State of the University address, which covered how the university is progressing toward the goals established as part of the Vision 2022 strategic plan, new initiatives, and updates on existing projects.
“We have a lot to celebrate,” said Dr. Lane. “This academic year has flown by in some respects, but we’ve made significant strides toward our goals since last August. We still have a lot of work to do, and we are heading in the right direction.”
To watch the Tiger Awards and Dr. Lane’s State of the University presentation, click here.

Category: Faculty & Staff, Alumni, News Media