Spotlight on Faculty Excellence
The Spotlight on Faculty Excellence highlights faculty whose research, scholarship or creative activity is changing lives, shaping their field or transforming our communities. The program honors KU scholars from all campuses — Lawrence, Edwards, and the Medical Center — whose work is nationally or internationally recognized and who are dedicated to mentoring the next generation of leaders. Honorees are selected from nominations submitted by school and center leaders. The selected faculty members are celebrated individually with a VIP experience at a KU volleyball, men's basketball, or women's basketball game, where their achievements are recognized in front of thousands of fans.
The pilot program, called "KU Salute to Faculty Excellence," launched during the 2023-24 academic year as an initiative of the Provost's Office in partnership with the Office of Research and KU Athletics. Only Lawrence campus faculty were initially eligible for nomination. In 2024-25, the name was changed and the program expanded to include the Edwards and Medical Center campuses. The Office of Faculty Affairs joined as a program partner for the 2025-26 recognitions.
Recipients of the Spotlight on Faculty Excellence
- Andrés Bur, otolaryngology, KU Medical Center
- Mindy Bridges, Hearing and Speech, KU Medical Center
- Clint Chadwick, Business, Lawrence
- Lisa Didion, Special Education, Lawrence
- Andrew Godwin, Biomedical Sciences, KU Medical Center
- John Kelly, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Lawrence
- Annabel Mancillas, Obstetrics & Gynecology, KU Medical Center
- Bradley Newell, Pharmacy (Wichita), Lawrence
- Subhrajit Saha, Radiation Oncology, KU Medical Center
- Claire Willey-Sthapit, Social Welfare, Lawrence
- Doug Wright, Anesthesiology, KU Medical Center
- Xinmai Yang, Mechanical Engineering, Lawrence
2024
- Nicholas Britt, Pharmacy Practice, Lawrence
- Amanda Emerson, Nursing, KU Medical Center
- Hao Gao, Radiation Oncology/Physics Research, KU Medical Center
- Angela Gist-Mackey, Communication Studies, Lawrence
- Sarah Kessler, Family Medicine & Community Health, KU Medical Center
- Kevin Leonard, Chemical & Petroleum Engineering, Lawrence
- Amalia Monroe-Gulick, KU Libraries, Lawrence
- Catherine (Katie) Siengsukon, Physical Therapy, Rehabilitation Sciences, and Athletic Training, KU Medical Center
- John Thyfault, Cell Biology and Physiology, KU Medical Center
- Jack Treml, Biotechnology, Edwards
- Kathleen Tuck, Special Education, Lawrence
- Mike Wilkins, Business, Lawrence
2023
- Emily Arnold, Aerospace Engineering, Lawrence
- Hui Cai, Architecture, Lawrence
- Teri Finneman, Journalism & Mass Communications, Lawrence
- Deanna Hanson-Abromeit, Music Therapy, Lawrence
- Trent Herda, Health, Sport & Exercise Science, Lawrence
- Allison Kirkpatrick, Physics & Astronomy, Lawrence
- Jomella Watson-Thompson, Applied Behavioral Science, Lawrence
Upcoming Spotlight on Faculty Excellence Events
Katie Siengsukon (With Jacob Sosnoff)
Claire Willey-Sthapit (With Amy Mendenhall)
Mike Wilkins (With Paige Fields)
Angela Gist-Mackey (With Jie Zhang)
John Thyfault (With Peter Smtih)
Kevin Leanard (With Candan Tamerler)
Jack Treml (With John Bricklemyer)
Amalia Monroe-Gulick (With Carol Smith)
Hao Gao (With Ronald Chen)
Amanda Emerson
Katie Siengsukon (With Jacob Sosnoff)
Claire Willey-Sthapit (With Amy Mendenhall)
Doug Wright (With John Thyfault)
John Kelly (With Tara Welch)
Andrew Goodwin (With Long Zheng)
Bradley Newell (With Barbara Timmermannn)