College of Arts & Sciences Celebrates Faculty, Staff, Students, and Alumni at Annual Awards Ceremony

The College of Arts and Sciences hosted its annual awards ceremony on Tuesday, March 24 celebrating the 2025–26 recipients of the Barbara Cooke Staff Appreciation Awards, Outstanding Faculty Awards, and Board of Advisors Alumni Awards.

In addition, the College recognized its senior student ambassadors and honored faculty members whose courses contributed to award-winning presentations at the December First-Year Seminar Symposium.

Associate Professor Amanda Walling from the Department of English and Modern Languages was presented with the Faculty Member of the Fall 2025 Semester award, and the following Students of the Fall 2025 semester were recognized:

Taylor DePaolo-Daily ’26 – Digital Media and Journalism

Asheron Soma ’27 – Biology

Anniston Binns ’28 – Biology

Dylan Murtha ’29 – International Studies

Read more about the following award recipients on the A&S Awards webpage.

Barbara Cooke Staff Appreciation Awards recognize leadership, competency, enthusiasm, dedication, and a positive attitude in interactions with others:

Smith Kidkarndee, PsyD, Associate Director, GIPP PsyD Program

Mary Dowst, Office Coordinator, Departments of Biology and Chemistry

Outstanding Faculty Awards recognize extraordinary achievements and outstanding contributions in any of or all three categories: teaching, scholarship/professional productivity, and/or service:

Benjamin Grossberg, PhD, Professor and Creative Writing Minor Director, Department of English and Modern Languages

Bryan Sinche, PhD, Professor and Chair, Department of English and Modern Languages

Board of Advisors Alumni Awards celebrate the value of a liberal arts education and recognize the significant achievements of Arts and Sciences alumni who make a difference in their profession and/or their community:

Dr. Ebony Wright-Campbell, DSW ’04, Licensed Social Worker, Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts

David W. Salzman, PhD ’04, CEO, Gatehouse Bio

From left, A&S Dean Josie Brown, Dr. Ebony Wright-Campbell '04, David W. Salzman '04, Associate Provost James Shattuck, and Former Hillyer College Dean David Goldenberg.

Dr. Ebony Wright-Campbell and David W. Salzman answer questions about their academic and career experiences.

Faculty members recognized for their students' award-winning First-Year Seminar presentations include from left, Professor Sundeep Muppidi, Professor Mark Blackwell, Associate Professor Jack Banks, and Professor Mala Matacin.