College of Arts and Sciences Celebrates Faculty and Staff Award Winners

🎉 A celebration is in order: The College of Arts and Sciences convened for its annual Spring Honors and Awards Ceremony, celebrating the college’s recent achievements, promotions, and research activity.

Faculty and staff members were also recognized for nomination-based awards, including the Excellence in Teaching Awards, Excellence in Research and Creative Activity Awards, and Janine Brooks Memorial Staff Award. Read more about each of the recipients below.

🏆 The Awardees:

Excellence in Teaching Awards:

• Lana Obradovic (Political Science)
  • 🎤 What their nominators are saying: “Dr. Obradovic was one of the very first people I interacted with at UNO. I credit her with being a major reason I decided to stay and because of that, I will graduate in May, set to continue onto law school in the fall.”
• Jonathan Santo (Psychology)
  • 🎤 What their nominators are saying: “In the many years I spent learning from Dr. Santo, I watched many undergraduate and graduate students gain not only knowledge and skill, but also a sense of confidence and enthusiasm, under his tutelage. Professors like Dr. Santo don’t just teach, they inspire.”
• Ryan Wong (Biology)
  • 🎤 What their nominators are saying: “What truly sets Dr. Wong apart is the way he invests in every student’s personal and intellectual growth. He recognized my strengths and weaknesses, encouraged me to push beyond my comfort zone, and showed me I could achieve goals I once thought were out of reach.”
• Jeremy White (Biology)
  • 🎤 What their nominators are saying: “The needs of students are always made his top priority when brought to his attention; if something needs changed to meet the needs of one individual student, he is more than willing to go out of his way to ensure that it happens.”
• Reiko Loukota-Take (Take 先生) (World Languages and Literature)
  • 🎤 What their nominators are saying: “One of the most remarkable aspects of Reiko’s teaching is her ability to create a supportive and motivating environment. Her students frequently highlight how her kindness, patience, and high standards of excellence guide them through the challenges of learning Japanese.”

Excellence in Research and Creative Activity Awards:

• Sam Hunter (Psychology)
  • 🎤 What their nominators are saying: Prof. Hunter “…is unique in applying his knowledge and expertise in creativity to the study of extremism and violence. He is the leading scholar on the topic of malevolent innovation and a pioneer in the equifinality centric theory which challenges prevailing theories and thinking about modern leadership.”

Janine Brooks Memorial Staff Award:

• Dustin Pendley (English)
  • 🎤 What their nominators are saying: “Dustin’s priority is always what is best for the student.”