Faculty Opportunity and Engagement Award

Overview

The Faculty Opportunity and Engagement Award recognizes distinctive and outstanding teaching, research or creative work, and/or service and outreach that expand access to education, foster academic and professional growth, and create meaningful opportunities for engagement across the multiple communities at Washington State University. All career- and tenure-track faculty (half-time or greater) are eligible.

Criteria

The award will recognize outstanding accomplishments and general impact in any or all of the following areas:

  • Teaching
    • Development and implementation of effective strategies that broaden student engagement and success, support a wide range of learning needs, or expand educational access within the field of instruction. Activities may include classroom instruction, mentoring, or the direction of independent study, theses, and dissertations.
  • Research or Creative Work
    • Innovative research or creative work that contributes new insights, broadens participation, or addresses challenges related to educational access, opportunity, or engagement within the field of study.
  • Service/Outreach
    • Activities that support the academic or professional growth of students, colleagues, or communities; initiatives that promote access to the field of study or university resources; or efforts that strengthen connections between the university and broader communities through meaningful engagement.

Application Process

Nominators are asked to submit the nomination form, a copy of the nominee’s curriculum vitae, and a narrative of 1000 words or less, stating why the nominee meets the award criteria and is deserving of the award.

Please do not submit additional information during the initial phase.  At a later date, for those nominees moving forward for secondary consideration, the nominator(s) will be asked to provide additional supporting information. Representative examples of additional information may include:

  • A brief description of the nominee’s position at Washington State University and the approximate percentages of assignment to instruction, service, and research, scholarship or arts.
  • An interpretive evaluation of the nominee’s contribution in relation to the award, including a summary of major accomplishments and evidence of impact on the nominee’s field and students.  In the evaluation, please directly address the criteria for the award.
  • Up to three letters of endorsement from individuals who can evaluate the nominee’s contribution relevant to the award.
  • A list of honors or recognitions received.
  • A list of invited addresses and other honors related to the nominee’s contribution.
  • A list of graduate students for whom they served as major professor.
  • A recent summary of teaching evaluations, courses taught (going back five years, and including, if available, response rates and college average) and class sizes.

Recent Honorees

Tarah Sullivan

2025 Faculty Opportunity and Engagement Award Honoree

Alexis Tan

2024 Faculty Opportunity and Engagement Award Honoree

Katherine Rodela

2023 Faculty Opportunity and Engagement Award Honoree

Zoe Higheagle Strong

2022 Faculty Opportunity and Engagement Award Honoree

Melissa Parkhurst

2021 Faculty Opportunity and Engagement Award Honoree

Gisela Ernst-Slavit

2020 Faculty Opportunity and Engagement Award Honoree

Shira Broschat

2019 Faculty Opportunity and Engagement Award Honoree

Raymond Herrera

2018 Faculty Opportunity and Engagement Award Honoree

Paul Kwon

2017 Faculty Opportunity and Engagement Award Honoree

All Award Recipients

YearRecipientTitle
2025Tarah SullivanAssociate Professor, Department of Crop and Soil Sciences
2024Alexis TanProfessor, Department of Journalism and Media Production
2023Katherine RodelaAssociate Professor, Department of Educational Leadership and Sport Management
2022Zoe Higheagle StrongAssistant Professor, Department of Kinesiology and Educational Psychology
2021Melissa ParkhurstAssociate Professor, School of Music, College of Arts and Sciences
2020Gisela Ernst-SlavitProfessor, College of Education, WSU Vancouver
2019Shira BroschatProfessor, School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
2018Raymond HerreraAssistant Dean, Graduate School and Director, Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program
2017Paul KwonAssociate Professor, Department of Psychology
2016Paula Groves PriceAssociate Dean, Diversity and International Programs, College of Education
2015Pamela BettisAssociate Professor, College of Education, Teaching and Learning
2014Dana BakerAssociate Professor, School of Politics, Philosophy and Public Affairs, WSU Vancouver
2013Eric J. JohnsonAssistant Professor, College of Education, WSU Tri-Cities
2012Ella InglebretAssociate Professor, Speech and Hearing Sciences, WSU Spokane
2011Carol AllenClinical Associate Professor, College of Nursing, WSU Spokane