Baylor University Graduate School Honors Outstanding Graduate Student Award Winners
More than 5,600 graduate students pursue their Master’s or Doctoral studies at Baylor, and their work positively impacts research, teaching and scholarship throughout the University. Each year, the Baylor University Graduate School honors the top students in teaching, research and dissertations in an annual Outstanding Graduate Student Award Luncheon.
On November 6, the Graduate School honored the Outstanding Graduate Student Award winners for 2023-24, celebrating 14 students from 12 departments whose scholarly work stood out among their outstanding peers in the Graduate School.
“It is incredibly meaningful to celebrate our Outstanding Graduate Students, because it brings to life the abstract concepts we deal with—number of classes taught and articles published, research dollars received, Ph.D.’s produced. Those are numbers, but these are people,” Larry Lyon, Ph.D., Dean of the Graduate School, said. “These students are the most important metric of Baylor’s Graduate School. Their teaching is of the highest quality, and their research and dissertations could be found at any elite institution in the nation. The chance to acknowledge and celebrate their accomplishments is really special.”
Each year, three major awards are presented by the Graduate School: Outstanding Graduate School Instructors, Outstanding Graduate School Research and Outstanding Dissertation. To capture the diversity of disciplines across the institution, multiple versions of each award are presented for students in the humanities, STEM fields and social sciences. The Outstanding Graduate Instructor Award is presented for each semester, for a total of eight annual winners, while three are selected for the Research and Dissertation Awards. This year's awards include the creation of an additional honor--the Outstanding Graduate School Instructor Award in the STEM fields now includes honors for excellence in both laboratory and classroom settings.
Meet the 2023-24 Outstanding Graduate Student Honorees, along with their faculty mentors:
Outstanding Graduate School Instructor Honorees for Fall 2023 and Spring 2024, with faculty mentors listed alongside:
| Humanities: | Levi Durham, Philosophy, Fall 2023 | Mentor: Alexander Pruss, Ph.D. |
| Rich Eva, Philosophy, Spring 2024 | Alexander Pruss, Ph.D. | |
| Social Sciences: | Maggie Bryant, Curriculum & Instruction, Fall 2023 | Sandra Talbert, Ph.D. |
| Elizabeth Harrelson Magill, Curriculum & Instruction, Spring 2024 | Mentor: Kevin Magill, Ph.D. | |
| STEM-Classroom | Ernesto Quevedo Caballero, Computer Science, Fall 2023 | Mentor: Eunjee Song, Ph.D. |
| Mattie Robison, Public Health, Spring 2024 | Mentor: Margo Shanks | |
| STEM-Laboratory | Leticia Cherpe de Souza, HHPR, Fall 2023 | Mentor: Leslee Funderburk, Ph.D. |
| Tolulope Ojo, Biology, Spring 2024 | Jonathan Lawson, Ph.D. |
Winners were selected based on recommendations from their supervising faculty, letters from students in the classroom, teaching philosophy statements and record of participation in professional teaching development. Winners receive a plaque and travel award to attend a conference, or the purchase of the tam & hood portion of their doctoral regalia.
Outstanding Graduate School Research Honorees for 2023-24, with faculty mentors:
| Humanities: | Eric Brewer, Religion | Mentor: Mikeal Parsons, Ph.D. |
| Social Sciences: | Beatrice Ruiz, Educational Psychology | Mentor: Todd Kettler, Ph.D. |
| STEM: | Kurtunia Rahul, Mechanical Engineering | Mentor: David Jack, Ph.D. |
Candidates are judged by their description of their completed and/or ongoing research projects, participation in research events and conferences, presentations and publications, future research plans, and a letter of recommendation from a faculty mentor. Winners receive a plaque and travel award to attend a conference, or the purchase of the tam & hood portion of their doctoral regalia.
Outstanding Dissertation for 2023-24, with faculty mentors
| Humanities: | Skylar Ray, Ph.D., History | Mentor: Elesha Coffman, Ph.D. |
| Social Sciences: | Ruquian Li, Ph.D., Sociology | Mentor: Paul Froese, Ph.D. |
| STEM: | Alexandra Tyra, Ph.D., Psychology and Neuroscience | Mentor: Annie Ginty, Ph.D. |
Applicants must be nominated by their department. They are then judged on their description of their dissertation project and other elements of their CVs such as publications, presentations, and other awards. They also submit letters of recommendation from a faculty member who worked closely with them and from their GPD. This award comes with a plaque and a $1,000 cash prize.
Each student’s faculty mentor attended the November 15 luncheon to celebrate along with their student mentees. Provost Nancy Brickhouse, Ph.D., presented the awards.
“It’s exciting to celebrate with the students and the mentors who have walked alongside them to help them achieve the highest levels of excellence,” Brickhouse said. “Great educators are made, and not born, and each of these students have begun the important work of developing the craft of teaching that will launch them well in academia.
To meet this year’s winners and discover their work, or visit the Outstanding Graduate Student Award Winners website or follow the Baylor University Graduate School on Instagram. Learn more about Baylor’s investment in graduate education and Graduate School growth here.