Awards & Accolades

University of Oregon employees strive for excellence in teaching, research, artistic expression, and the generation and application of knowledge. They are frequently honored for their research, scholarship, teaching, leadership and service that exemplifies individual excellence and delivers on our institutional purpose.

Recognizing individual achievements acknowledges contributions to the UO and their profession and celebrates accomplishments such as grants, honors and fellowships, elections to regional and national boards or committees in professional organizations, and other career awards. Congratulations to the honorees.

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April 7, 2023

Lauren Kessler wins 2023 Oregon Book Award

Lauren Kessler, professor emerit, School of Journalism and Communication, won the Frances Fuller Victor Award for General Nonfiction for Free: Two Years, Six Lives, and the Long Journey Home, published by Sourcebooks. A video of finalists reading from their work can be viewed on YouTube.

April 7, 2023

Juan-Carlos Molleda appointed senior counsel to national public relations board

Juan-Carlos Molleda, Edwin L. Artzt Dean of the School of Journalism and Communication, has been appointed Senior Counsel to the Public Relations Society of America's 2023 Board of Directors. The Public Relations Society of America is the leading professional organization for the communications community.

April 7, 2023

Joe Dufek and Josh Méndez Harper join team awarded $1.2M to study airborne microbes

Joe Dufek, the Gwen and Charles Lillis Chair professor in the College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Earth Sciences, and Josh Méndez Harper, Research Engineer, are principal investigators on a project funded by the Keck Foundation to explore how microbes survive, grow, and interact in the air. Dufek will collaborate with other principal investigators from Emory University, as well as UO Research Engineer, Joshua Méndez Harper, a former postdoctoral fellow from Emory, now serving at the University of Oregon.

April 7, 2023

Walter Kennedy produces award-winning documentary on Bella Lewitzky

Walter Kennedy, associate professor of dance in the School of Music and Dance, has produced an award-winning documentary, Bella, that examines and celebrates the life of artist and activist Bella Lewitzky. The documentary has taken home several awards, including Best Feature Documentary at Dance Camera West in Los Angeles, Festival Internacional Cine de America in Mexico, Film Fest International in Edinburgh, Montgomery International Film Festival in Delaware, and Worldwide Women’s Film Festival in Arizona.

April 4, 2023

Lana Lopesi receives New Zealand Order of Merit

Lana Lopesi, assistant professor in the College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Indigenous, Race and Ethnic Studies, has been awarded the New Zealand Order of Merit for her service to the arts.

April 3, 2023

Diana Libuda receives FASEB Excellence in Science Award

Diana Libuda, assistant professor in the College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Biology, has been awarded the Excellence in Science Early Career Investigator Award from the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology. The award is given to female scientists demonstrating not only excellence and innovation in their research fields, but exemplary leadership and mentorship as well.

March 28, 2023

Susan Sokolowski places 2nd in NIOSH Protective Clothing Challenge

Susan Sokolowski, the founding director and associate professor of the Sports Product Design Graduate Program at the University of Oregon, and an iGIANT outreach committee member, recently won second place ($15,000) in the The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Protective Clothing Challenge.

March 23, 2023

Rachel Todd recognized as a Women of Influence for 2023

Rachel Todd, director of the Oregon Executive MBA program for the Lundquist College of Business, has been recognized as a 2023 Women of Influence by the Portland Business Journal. The award acknowledges accomplished business leaders who demonstrate innovation in their field, exceptional performance in their business, and a significant history of community involvement. Todd and the other honorees will be celebrated at a luncheon in Portland on April 4.

March 20, 2023

Tien-Tien Yu appointed a member of the Particle Physics Project Prioritization Panel

Tien-Tien Yu, an associate professor in the College of Arts and Sciences Department of Physics, has been appointed a member of the P5, an advisory group convened by the Department of Energy and National Science Foundation. Along with 30 other panelists, Yu will help determine the projects in particle physics that will be funded over the next decade.