Employee awards, honors and accolades for winter term 2021

March 16 – Cass Moseley, UO’s interim vice president for research and innovation, testified before the House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee on watershed restoration, community resilience and rural economic recovery on Thursday, March 11 at the session “Building Back Better: Building Resilience for the Economy, Climate and Ecosystems.”

March 16 – A new grant from the U.S Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration awarded a $500,000 CARES Act Recovery Assistance grant to fund a collaboration between the UO, the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce and newly formed non-profit Onward Eugene to aid in the local economic recovery. The main goal of the grant is to increase regional resilience through the cultivation of the startup ecosystem and the expansion of entrepreneurial support programs.

March 2 – Alison Kwok, professor of architecture in the College of Design, was honored with a Distinguished Professor Award at the American Institute of Architects and the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture's 2021 Architectural Education Awards. The category recognizes “individuals that have had a positive, stimulating, and nurturing influence upon students over an extended period of time and/or teaching which inspired a generation of students who themselves have contributed to the advancement of architecture.”

March 2 – Dayna Chatman, assistant professor in the School of Journalism and Communication, was the Signum Fidei Award recipient at the Saint Mary's College of California's Alumni Association 2021 Distinguished Alumni Awards. Dayna graduated cum laude from Saint Mary's College and focuses on diversity, equity and inclusion within media at the UO.

Feb. 5 – Melanie Muenzer has been appointed to the U.S. Department of Education as chief of staff in the Office of the Under Secretary. She leaves her role as the associate vice president and vice provost for academic initiatives at the University of Oregon. She previously served at the U.S. Department of Education from 2009-15 as White House liaison, chief of staff in the policy office, and deputy assistant secretary for higher education policy.

Jan. 12 – Marian Friestad and Peter Wright, professors emeriti in the College of Business, received the Association for Consumer Research’s award for long-term contributions. The award, funded by the Sheth Foundation every three years, recognized the impact of their often-cited June 1994 paper "The Persuasion Knowledge Model: How People Cope with Persuasion Attempts" in the Journal of Consumer Research. It established a framework to help researchers understand how people interpret, evaluate and respond to the influence of marketing approaches used by advertisers and salespeople.

Jan. 12 – David Koranda, professor of practice in the School of Journalism and Communications, has been named to the 2021 Panel Pool National Advertising Review Board by BBB National Programs. Member are selected for their stature and experience in their fields and provide independent peer review to ensure truthfulness and accuracy in national advertising and help promote voluntary compliance of its decisions.


Each term Around the O Workplace will recognize awards, honors and other professional recognition of University of Oregon faculty, staff, and graduate employees. Submissions should be brief and include a link to the award website.