Auburn University Faculty Awards

Auburn University Faculty Awards

The Gerald and Emily Leischuck Endowed Presidential Awards for Excellence in Teaching

These awards honor two full-time, tenured faculty members who have demonstrated effective and innovative teaching methods and a continuing commitment to student success through advising and mentoring inside and outside the classroom.

Casey G. Cegielski, Associate Professor, Management and Information Systems
Raymond J. Harbert College of Business


PhD — University of Mississippi
Master of Accountancy, BA — University of Alabama


Portrait image of Casey G. Cegielski

"I can say that, collectively, I am most proud of the number of professional careers that I've helped start for our graduates. When parents send their sons and daughters to Auburn University, they do so with the aspiration that their respective children will gain the requisite knowledge and skills to prosper in some career."

Casey Cegielski is a former KPMG Faculty Fellow in the Harbert College of Business. He has authored more than 30 peer-reviewed articles in areas including innovation diffusion, emerging information technology, information security, and the strategic use of information technology. His research has appeared in numerous international information systems journals including Communications of the AIS, Information & Management, Decision Support Systems, and the Information Systems Journal. Cegielski is co-author of the information systems textbook, Introduction to Management Information Systems: Supporting and Transforming Business, 4eds, John Wiley & Sons, 2012. Specializing in "security visioning," technology strategy development, and technology policy articulation, Cegielski has more than 15 years of executive-level professional experience in the health care, financial services, and manufacturing industries. He holds several professional licenses including: Certified Information Systems Security Professional, Certified Information Systems Auditor, and Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control. Cegielski is married to Samantha, and they have two sons, Grant and Brady.

David A. Umphress, Associate Professor, Computer Science and Software Engineering
Samuel Ginn College of Engineering


PhD, MCS — Texas A&M University
BS — Angelo State University


Portrait image of David A. Umphress

"What I like best is the sense of belonging that Auburn University engenders. Whoever attends Auburn University, works for it, or just cheers for its successes in the academic and athletic arenas becomes a part of a large family, a family whose purpose is to help everyone realize their potential in life."

David A. Umphress works for the Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering, where his teaching, research, and outreach endeavors focus on defining ways to build software that exceeds customer expectations of function and quality. His career spans more than 35 years in various software and systems engineering capacities in academic, military, and industrial settings. His areas of expertise include software engineering, systems engineering, software process, software vulnerability analysis, and mobile device development. Since coming to Auburn University in 1999, Umphress has been named "Outstanding Instructor" five times by his department, and he received the William Walker Teaching Award in 2008. He holds the Certified Software Development Professional credential. Umphress is a retired Air Force officer, and says he has the satisfaction of knowing that software he wrote has been used to preserve lives. He is married to Kimberley, and they have four children, Ash, Courtney, Cameron, and Sumner.