Auburn University Faculty Awards - Home Page
Celebrating Auburn’s Faculty Innovators: Meet This Year’s Award Honorees
Auburn University will celebrate the faculty who fuel its mission of teaching, research and service as it recognizes 15 exceptional educators, scholars and leaders at this year’s Faculty Awards Ceremony held on November 18. Together, this year’s remarkable honorees are transforming classrooms, advancing discovery and strengthening communities across Alabama and beyond.
Representing colleges and disciplines from across the university, this year’s recipients embody Auburn’s highest ideals through their innovation, mentorship and commitment to service. Fueling advancements in fields that range from pharmacy and engineering to human sciences, communication and agriculture, this year’s honorees are shaping the student experience and expanding Auburn’s reach well beyond campus.
“These awards highlight the exceptional scholarship, creativity and service that distinguish Auburn,” Provost Vini Nathan said. “Each recipient reflects the best of who we are. They are educators and innovators whose work inspires students, drives discovery and strengthens the communities we serve.”
Now in its 24th year, the Faculty Awards program remains one of Auburn’s most meaningful traditions. Honorees are nominated by their peers and selected by committees of faculty, staff, students and alumni, underscoring the deep respect they have earned within the Auburn community. Awards recognize excellence in undergraduate and graduate teaching, creative research and scholarship, faculty leadership, outreach and mentorship.
Nathan noted that the university’s land-grant mission is brought to life through the day-to-day dedication of faculty. “Our impact begins in the hands of our faculty,” she added. “Their innovation, integrity and compassion ensure Auburn’s continued excellence for generations to come.”
Recognized at the annual celebration, the event is an important reminder that Auburn’s strength is rooted in its people — those who teach, discover, mentor and serve with purpose.
Learn more about the accomplishments and impact of this year’s honorees below:
2025 Honorees
Brigitta Brunner
The Gerald and Emily Leischuck Endowed Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching
Lea Eiland
The Gerald and Emily Leischuck Endowed Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching
Xiao Qin
The Gerald and Emily Leischuck Endowed Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching
Jeffrey LaMondia
President's Award for Distinguished Faculty Leadership
Francesca Adler-Baeder
Creative Research and Scholarship Award
Virginia Davis
Creative Research and Scholarship Award
Brigitta Brunner
The Gerald and Emily Leischuck Endowed Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching
College of Liberal Arts
Charlotte Tuggle
Brigitta Brunner, public relations professor in the School of Communication & Journalism, prepares her students to stand out in the competitive public relations field, which has earned her numerous recognitions for her teaching.
Her latest recognition, the Gerald and Emily Leischuck Endowed Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching from Auburn University, recognizes her innovation and leadership in public relations education. Read more.
Lea Eiland
The Gerald and Emily Leischuck Endowed Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching
Harrison College of Pharmacy
By Matt Crouch
With a focus on hands-on, active learning in the clinical setting, Dr. Lea Eiland has worked throughout her more than 20 years at Auburn University’s Harrison College of Pharmacy to share her love of pharmacy and medications with her students.
A recognized leader in the field, she has been honored for her work in the classroom over the years with awards from some of the top pharmacy professional organizations. This year, she adds to that list as a 2025 recipient of the prestigious Auburn University Gerald and Emily Leischuck Endowed Presidential Awards for Excellence in Teaching. Read more.
Francesca Adler-Baeder
Creative Research and Scholarship Award
College of Human Sciences
By Graham Brooks
Currently in her 25th year working on Auburn’s campus, Dr. Francesca Adler-Baeder has left a lasting impact on the College of Human Sciences and more specifically, the Department of Human Development and Family Science, and through her profound work she has been recognized as one of the 2025 Faculty Award Recipients.
Serving as an Endowed Human Sciences Professor and an AU Alumni Professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Science, Adler-Baeder received a Creative Research and Scholarship Award in the Human Sciences category thanks in part to her internationally acclaimed research on relational health, prevention programs, and stepfamilies. Read more.
Sayyed Fawad Ali Shah
Emerging Creative Research and Scholarship Award
College of Liberal Arts
By Julie Huff
With research reshaping how scholars understand journalism, mental health and global communication, Dr. Sayyed Fawad Ali Shah of Auburn’s School of Communication and Journalism will be honored on November 18 as one of two recipients of the university’s 2025 Emerging Creative Research and Scholarship Award.
Created last year, the Emerging Creative Research and Scholarship Awards honor early-career faculty whose work shows exceptional momentum and real-world impact. Shah’s scholarship reflects that mission clearly. His research centers on a unifying question: how people communicate in environments shaped by pressure, conflict and limited resources. Read more.
Samuel Ginn College of Engineering
Jeffrey LaMondia
President's Award for Distinguished Faculty Leadership
Virginia Davis
Creative Research and Scholarship Award
Xiao Qin
The Gerald and Emily Leischuck Endowed Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching
By Joe McAdory
Three Auburn Engineering faculty members will be recognized for exemplary leadership, innovative research, scholarship, creative work and dedicated service to the university and community at the 19th annual Auburn University Faculty Awards ceremony on Tuesday, Nov. 18.
Jeffrey LaMondia, the Elton and Lois Huff Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Davis, the Daniel F. and Josephine Breeden Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Xiao Qin, professor and director of graduate programs in the Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering, are among 15 distinguished faculty members from seven colleges to be honored. Read more.
Richard Vachula
Emerging Creative Research and Scholarship Award
College of Sciences and Mathematics
By Sara Falligant
When Richard Vachula talks about fire, he doesn’t just mean smoke and flames. He means a force that has shaped the planet for millions of years, influencing air, water, soil and life itself.
“I study fire as a process within the Earth system,” said Vachula, an assistant professor in the College of Sciences and Mathematics’ Department of Geosciences. “It’s about understanding Earth as one interconnected system, where every part interacts with the others.”
That big-picture perspective and his growing impact in the field earned Vachula Auburn’s 2025 Emerging Creative Research & Scholarship Award in the Sciences, Biomedical Sciences, Engineering and Agriculture category. The honor recognizes early career faculty whose research is already making a difference across disciplines. Read more.
Jayachandra Ramapuram
Provost Award for Faculty Excellence in Research and Creative Scholarship Mentoring
Harrison College of Pharmacy
By Matt Crouch
Through an environment that fosters collaboration, provides structure and the confidence to answer the big questions, the Harrison College of Pharmacy’s Dr. Jay Ramapuram is developing the next generation of leaders in pharmaceutical sciences.
Recognizing his efforts and his dedication to students’ development, he was recently recognized with the Auburn University Provost Award for Faculty Excellence in Research and Creative Scholarship Mentoring.
A professor in the Harrison College of Pharmacy’s (HCOP) Department of Drug Discovery and Development, Ramapuram has guided 14 Ph.D. scholars and more than 30 undergraduate and professional students, many of whom have gone on to successful careers in academia, industry and government. Read more.
Michael Roberts
Provost Award for Faculty Excellence in Research and Creative Scholarship Mentoring
College of Education
By Miranda Nobles
For Auburn University Professor Michael Roberts, mentoring students is the most rewarding part of his career. However, it’s far from the only part of his role as a professor. He also conducts research in his Nutrabolt Molecular and Applied Sciences Lab, where his work examines how training and diet influence molecular adaptations related to performance, aging, and overall health.
Roberts, whose lab is housed in the College of Education’s School of Kinesiology, has spent more than a decade on the Plains, mentoring students and exploring skeletal muscle biology, exercise physiology, and nutritional interventions.
His high level of performance working with students and in the lab recently earned him a prestigious Provost Award for Faculty Excellence in Research and Creative Scholarship Mentoring. Read more.
Sungeun Cho
Alumni Undergraduate Teaching Excellence Award
College of Agriculture
By Josh Woods
In Associate Professor Sungeun Cho’s classroom, food isn’t just something to taste — it’s a gateway to science, culture and innovation. Through courses like FDSC 1000, Introduction to Food Science, Cho helps students understand the physical, biological and chemical principles behind the food we eat every day.
The Department of Poultry Science faculty member is a 2025 recipient of the Provost Office’s Alumni Undergraduate Teaching Excellence Award, which recognizes the outstanding teaching of undergraduates from nominations made by department heads, deans, alumni and students. A committee of retired faculty selects the recipients.
Since joining Auburn in 2019, Cho has made a remarkable impact through her engaging and innovative instruction. Read more.
Brian Delaney
Alumni Undergraduate Teaching Excellence Award
College of Liberal Arts
By Julie Huff
When Dr. Brian Delaney arrived at Auburn University in 2021, he stepped into the classroom with a simple philosophy: students learn journalism best by living it. Three years later, he is being recognized for transforming that philosophy into a powerful model of teaching, mentorship and student success.
On November 18, Delaney will be among this year’s recipients of the Auburn University Alumni Undergraduate Teaching Excellence Award, a distinction made even more meaningful because it is driven by nominations from alumni and former students who credit his teaching and mentorship with shaping their success. For his students and colleagues, however, the recognition feels long overdue. Read more.
Yee Ming Lee
Alumni Undergraduate Teaching Excellence Award
College of Huamn Sciences
By Graham Brooks
Driven by a passion to make a difference in people’s lives through teaching and research with meaningful, real-world impact, Dr. Yee Ming Lee, associate professor in the Horst Schulze School of Hospitality Management, has been named one of Auburn University’s 2025 Faculty Award recipients.
Lee, among two other professors at Auburn, is a recipient of the Alumni Undergraduate Teaching Excellence Awards category that recognizes the outstanding teaching of undergraduates from nominations made by department heads, deans, alumni and students. Read more.
Leanne Dillard
Auburn University Award for Excellence in Faculty Outreach
College of Agriculture
By Josh Woods
Leanne Dillard has always loved puzzles, and her work as an associate professor and an Alabama Cooperative Extension System specialist is like one big puzzle.
Dillard is the recipient of the 2025 Auburn University Award for Excellence in Faculty Outreach. Presented by the Provost’s Office, the award honors the engagement of exemplary faculty members and demonstrates the tremendous impact outreach has on the community, state, nation and beyond. Read more.
Edward Thomas Jr.
Distinguished Graduate Faculty Lectureship
College of Sciences and Mathematics
By Sara Falligant
Inside the Magnetized Plasma Research Laboratory at Auburn University, clouds of charged dust move through chambers of glowing gas. For Edward Thomas Jr., the behavior of these tiny particles and how they organize, collide and form patterns has been a source of fascination for more than three decades.
Thomas, professor of physics and dean of the College of Sciences and Mathematics, has built a career exploring the fundamental physics of plasmas while mentoring the next generation of scientists. His internationally recognized work in dusty plasma physics has been supported by major federal science agencies and earned him fellow status in the American Physical Society, the Alabama Academy of Science and the National Society of Black Physicists.
That dedication to both science and mentorship has most recently earned Thomas Auburn University’s 2025 Distinguished Graduate Faculty Lectureship, which recognizes exceptional contributions to graduate education and research. Read more.
