2019 Faculty Awards

Paul Cobine is known for his steadfast commitment to undergraduate teaching and his ability to build connections with students in the classroom and laboratory. A top-tier researcher in the field of Microbial, Cell and Molecular Biology, Cobine is an inspirational teacher and outstanding student mentor. During his more than ten years at Auburn, Cobine has mentored more than 120 undergraduate research students, supported more than 80 graduate students, and taught more than 2,200 undergraduate students. Cobine's engagement in the university's Learning Communities and Exploratory major teaching program continues to impact first-year students and demonstrates his exceptional dedication to advancing teaching and learning. The College of Science and Mathematics' has long recognized his teaching efforts, and Cobine was honored with the college's Outstanding Teacher Award in 2017 followed by the Auburn University Parent Association Award in 2018. Cobine maintains a strong history of engaging in departmental and college-related outreach activities and received the university's prestigious Faculty Outreach Award in 2016.

Carey Andrzejewski is known for her depth of teaching, particularly her innovative approaches to fostering classroom engagement. Often incorporating a debate-style of instruction designed to promote an authentic classroom experience, Andrzejewski encourages students to become thoughtful learners, thinkers, and writers. By teaching the required undergraduate diversity course, her colleagues acknowledge Andrzejewski for her ability to provide students with the foundational knowledge and skills necessary for subsequent education courses. Andrzejewski's commitment to diversity in education illustrate her commitment to advancing research on how teachers can actively transform Alabama schools. Her scholarly work involves researching discipline in schools with the intent to ensure students a welcoming, safe community that promotes a diverse curriculum. Andrzejewski's efforts to improve teaching and learning extend beyond the classroom to include an education project in rural schools that uses dance as an effective way to entice young students to learn in a different dimension.

Recognized for his contribution of innovative teaching, meaningful scholarship, and impactful service, Scott Kramer's outreach efforts include engagement in international design-build service-learning projects in Ecuador, Haiti, and Panama. These projects provide Auburn students with hands-on, immersive learning experiences while serving economically under-resourced communities by constructing housing, community centers, churches, medical centers, and schools, all built with local materials and construction techniques. Kramer has also recruited additional Auburn colleagues in his projects, thus expanding the scope of their impact through multidisciplinary engagement. Together, Kramer and his teams are building community, lives, and hopeful aspirations through engaged learning, research scholarship, and outreach.

Hareesh Tippur's research in the areas of experimental mechanics, fracture and failure, optical metrology, high strain rate behavior of materials, and novel nano-particle composites has brought him international recognition as an innovative researcher and world-class scholar. Recently, Tippur expanded his research to include the development of novel additively manufactured (3D-printed) materials. Tippur has an extensive publication record, which includes over 250 technical papers in books and book chapters, top-tier journals, and peer-reviewed conference proceedings. Since joining Auburn more than 20 years ago, he has published over 100 new articles in the top journals in his field. Extremely active in graduate student education and involving graduate students throughout his research program, Tippur has advised 55 graduate students at Auburn, including 39 masters and 16 doctoral students.

Having spearheaded Auburn's Rural Studio 20K housing initiative for more than 14 years, Rusty Smith has helped to lead students and colleagues in solving the challenges of creating high quality, energy-efficient, regionally appropriate, affordable housing materials and scalable processes. His work on housing affordability provides strong evidence of the link between design and dignity, particularly in the context of low-income housing. Smith has established a robust track record of exceptional creative inquiry which has given him a highly visible national platform for being a thought and opinion leader in his field. In his work with the rural studio initiative, Smith has established strong ties between Auburn and the worlds of policy, advocacy, housing finance, and non-profit organizations. His efforts continue to advance the university's land-grant mission through the application of scholarly work to solve real-world problems.

An internationally recognized leader in the field of fish genetics and genomics, Rex Dunham has engaged in significant collaborative research for over three decades and has helped bring Auburn to the forefront of fisheries and aquaculture research. Dunham's work has revitalized the catfish industry—a significant component of Alabama's economy—while ultimately helping ensure abundant food supply. For nearly 40 years, Dunham has been an active researcher, obtaining approximately $21 million in research funding. He has also published 380 scholarly works, including 192 peer-reviewed journal articles, two highly regarded books on aquaculture and fisheries biotechnology, three manuscripts in Nature, and one in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. He has conducted joint research with collaborators in 19 U.S. states, nine Asian countries, three African countries, two countries in the Middle East, Australia, Canada, England, France, and Brazil.

Kathryn Floyd is known as both an outstanding scholar and a research advisor devoted to steering her students towards high-caliber scholarly achievements. She has successfully placed her students in internships in some of the country's most prestigious institutions include the New Museum and Guggenheim Museum in New York City, Frist Museum in Nashville, Phillips Collection in Washington DC, Smithsonian American Art Museum, High Museum in Atlanta, Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth, Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, Atlanta Contemporary Art Center, Salvador Dali Museum, and Birmingham Museum of Art. As an undergraduate mentor, Floyd appreciates the challenges faced by students in creative disciplines and strives to help them think "outside of the box" in defining their career paths. Floyd encourages students to cultivate adaptability, value innovation, and tackle new experiences and challenges as they pursue their future goals.

Auburn University Teaching Effectiveness Committee selected the Department of Theatre for their three-year plan to advance innovative pedagogical practices and promote performative excellence. By offering workshops and community events aimed at fostering critical engagement, the department hopes to expand the scope of its work to have a broader impact on the campus.

Research shows that patients receiving healthcare from teams of healthcare professionals have better outcomes than patients receiving healthcare from a single profession alone. Development of this team-based approach must begin during the education of healthcare professionals in order to overcome silos that plague many healthcare settings. In 2016, faculty from Auburn University's health sciences schools and VCOM-Auburn established the Interprofessional Education (IPE) program to better prepare students for practice. Auburn University is at the forefront of this collaborative, interprofessional education and serves as a model to other universities in the nation. As a result, Auburn University students entering the healthcare setting learn to work collaboratively with students in different health professions and provide better care to patients. In addition to students, faculty also work collaboratively to educate other disciplines in how to serve patients best using a team approach. The university recently partnered with the local community to operate the interprofessional Boykin Clinic in Auburn. This clinic serves the citizens of Auburn while also providing students with educational opportunities to work together in solving healthcare problems.

Eric Wetzel's in-depth disciplinary knowledge in building science, coupled with his industry experience, creates a teaching style by which he challenges students to push the boundaries of intellectual curiosity. Through his engaging and highly interactive teaching style that incorporates analog and digital tools, Wetzel makes technical content, such as project controls, thoroughly understandable, applicable, and enjoyable for students. His gift of connecting subject matter, integration of sound teaching concepts and theories, enduring passion and dedication, is both rare and remarkable.

Jennifer Robinson is an enthusiastic psychology faculty member who actively engages students in the classroom by challenging them to learn from various creative avenues. Her passion for learning and compassion for students is evident through her efforts to mentor students. Robinson actively involves undergraduate students in her lab, providing them with hands-on experiences and opportunities to do research. Robinson translates everyday experiences into fascinating projects that resonate with students. Her steadfast guidance and mentoring efforts have resulted in many former students pursuing advanced degrees, as well as applying for – and becoming – Fulbright Scholars.

A faculty member at Auburn since 1994, Stewart Schneller served as dean of the College of Sciences and Mathematics where he served for more than 15 years and is currently a professor of chemistry/biochemistry. His ability to present complicated materials in a relatable manner and instill life skills have made a significant impact on his students, who say they have gone on to use what they learned from Schneller in their academic and everyday lives. His commitment to the university, combined with his excellence in undergraduate teaching and investment in the lives of his students set him apart from other faculty members. Schneller exemplifies the highest standard of what it means to be a professor who believes in and inspires their students.

Russ Muntifering is known regionally, nationally, and internationally as a forage researcher and authority in livestock nutrition. He has served as the associate director of the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station and as a full-time research and teaching faculty member in the Department of Animal Sciences. As a Graduate Program Officer for over 20 years, Muntifering has built a foundation and serves as a leader in the development and support of a strong graduate student program. In addition to graduate students, Muntifering also mentors undergraduate students and faculty. Muntifering has also received the Distinguished Service Award by the Southern Section of the American Society of Animal Science for his outstanding service the livestock industry.