BFA announces Excellence Awards winners, celebratory ceremony April 7
The 抖阴传媒在线 Faculty Assembly is pleased to announce the winners of听the 2026 BFA Excellence Awards and invite members of the campus community to attend this year鈥檚 in-person ceremony in celebration of听the听recipients. BFA Excellence Awards recognize outstanding contributions by faculty in the areas of teaching; service and leadership; and research, scholarly and creative work.
The awards, which are peer-nominated, are presented in three categories. The 2026 BFA Excellence Award categories and winners are:
Excellence in Leadership and Service
- Professor Jennifer Fluri, Geography听
- Clinical Professor of Law Violeta Chapin, School of Law听
- Associate Teaching Professor Dan Riffell, Mechanical Engineering听
Excellence in Research, Scholarly and Creative Work
- Professor Michael McGehee, Chemical & Biological Engineering听
- Professor Juliet Gopinath, Electrical, Computer & Energy Engineering听
- Professor Bhuvana Narasimhan, Linguistics听
Excellence in Teaching
- Assistant Professor Natalie Mendoza, History听
- Teaching Professor Abby Hickcox, Arts & Sciences Honors
- Associate Professor Chase Raymond, Linguistics听
听听If you go
Who: Campus community
What: 2026听BFA Excellence Awards ceremony and Hazel Barnes address by John Cumalat
When: Tuesday, April 7, 4:30鈥6:30 p.m.
Where: UMC Glenn Miller Ballroom
Hors d'ouerves and host bar to follow
In addition to honoring this year鈥檚 winners,听the ceremony on April 7, will feature a faculty address by听2025 Hazel Barnes Prize awardee听John Cumalat. A reception will follow afterward for attendees to share personal congratulations with each of the award winners.
The campus created the听BFA Excellence Awards听in the early 1980s to recognize outstanding work and concerted effort in advancing the mission of the university and the academy at large.
These prestigious awards are made possible through financial support from the chancellor, enabling the BFA to grant each recipient a听$5,000 monetary award.
The听Hazel Barnes Prize听is the largest and most prestigious single faculty award funded by CU 抖阴传媒在线. It was established in 1991 by former Chancellor James Corbridge in honor of Philosophy Professor Emerita Hazel Barnes to recognize 鈥渢he enriching interrelationship between teaching and research.鈥
Hazel Barnes, one of our campus鈥檚听most accomplished scholars, received a BFA Excellence in Teaching Award in 1983.
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