Baylor Graduate School Honors Scholarly Excellence, Teaching, and Mentorship at 2026 Recognition Luncheon
WACO, Texas — The Baylor University Graduate School gathered faculty, graduate students, mentors, and academic leaders at the Baylor Club on Wednesday, November 4, 2026, for its annual Graduate School Awards Recognition Luncheon. The event honored 27 outstanding graduate students and faculty members across seven fellowship and award categories, recognizing transformative research, classroom leadership, and dedicated mentorship.
For more details about our winners, click on individuals at the 2026 Graduate School Award Winners page.
Celebrating Scholarly Journeys and Community
Dr. Michael Young, Dean of the Graduate School, opened the luncheon by welcoming attendees and offering the invocation. Drawing inspiration from Romans 12:10, Dean Young emphasized the spirit of mutual love and honoring one another’s contributions across the Baylor community.
“Today, we gather to celebrate scholarly excellence, impactful research, and dedicated teaching and mentorship across Baylor University,” Dean Young said. “Mentors and Graduate Program Directors, we thank you—your dedication is vital to our students’ journeys as emerging scholars.” Dean Young also expressed gratitude to faculty judges who spent time reviewing applications.
Following lunch, Interim Provost Dr. Lee Nordt addressed the gathering, relating how both mentors and mentees shaped his own research and teaching experiences and emphasizing the two-way benefit of a mentor/mentee relationship.
Honoring 2026 Award Recipients and Fellows
Interim Provost Nordt and Dean Young presented certificates and plaques to 27 honorees across the following categories:
Summer Dissertation Fellows
Providing crucial summer financial support to advanced doctoral candidates to facilitate dissertation completion, fellowships were awarded based on research progress and broader societal impact:
- Achini Eliyapura (Chemistry & Biochemistry)
- Savannah Flanagan (History)
- Jasmine Kidwell (Geosciences)
- Jennifer Laderi (Sociology)
- Timothy Rhee (Preaching)
- Allie Thrall (Curriculum & Teaching)
Virginia Sugg Furrow Fellowship
Endowed by Dr. Virginia Sugg Furrow (B.S. ’38, M.D. ’42) to support doctoral candidates demonstrating exceptional academic promise and Christian scholarship:
- Justice Flint (English)
- Joseph Yu (Computer Science)
Dr. Steven G. Driese Outstanding Grant Proposal Award
Recognizing the top grant proposal selected across 13 graduate grant-writing courses evaluated on scholarship, technical merit, feasibility, and impact:
- Evan Mastin (Chemistry & Biochemistry) – Proposal produced in CHE 5260 Scientific Communication
Outstanding Graduate Student Research Awards
Recognizing exceptional research productivity, high-impact publications, and conference presentations:
- Humanities: Ranmi Bae (Religion)
- Social Sciences: Alexandra Thrall (Curriculum & Instruction / Curriculum & Teaching PhD program)
- STEM: Nya Black (Chemistry & Biochemistry)
Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Awards
Selected from among approximately 400 graduate Teachers of Record based on teaching philosophy, pedagogical training, and classroom evaluations:
- Brooke LeFevre (History) – Fall 2025 Humanities
- Meredith Frey ( P-12 Educational Leadership) – Fall 2025 Social Sciences
- Martha du Preez (Mathematics) – Fall 2025 STEM Classroom Instruction
- Jasmine Kidwell (Geosciences) – Fall 2025 STEM Laboratory Instruction
- Savannah Chorn (English) – Spring 2026 Humanities
- Hannah Davis Chalk (Educational Psychology) – Spring 2026 Social Sciences
- Caroline Fowler (Psychology & Neuroscience) – Spring 2026 STEM Classroom Instruction
- Lizzy Kim (Biology) – Spring 2026 STEM Laboratory Instruction
Outstanding Dissertation Awards
Recognizing doctoral dissertations of significant originality, rigorous methodology, and discipline-wide impact:
- STEM: Dr. Jinwon Jeong (Electrical Engineering) – Dissertation Chair: Dr. Jeong Bong (JB) Lee
- Social Sciences: Dr. Jared Black (Health Research & Policy) – Dissertation Advisor: Dr. Scott Cunningham
- Humanities: Dr. Alexandra “Allie” Roberts Lopez (History) – Dissertation Chair: Dr. Robert Elder
Inaugural Outstanding Graduate Faculty Awards
Honoring faculty members for distinguished contributions to graduate mentoring, teaching, and leadership:
- Humanities Mentor: Dr. Joe B. Fulton (Professor, English)
- STEM Mentor: Dr. Elyssia Gallagher (Associate Professor, Chemistry & Biochemistry)
- Social Sciences Mentor: Dr. Paul Froese (Professor, Sociology)
- Master’s Programs Mentor: Dr. Jeffrey Petersen (Professor & Graduate Program Director, Sport Management / Educational Leadership)
- Professional Programs Mentor: Dr. Teresa Bachman (Clinical Associate Professor & Graduate Program Director, Physical Therapy)
- Outstanding Graduate Program Director: Dr. Joe Taube (Associate Professor & Graduate Program Director, Biology)
Paying Encouragement Forward
In his closing remarks, Dean Young reminded the honorees that their awards represent countless unseen hours of hard work, courage, and service.
“One of the greatest joys of graduate education is witnessing the transformative partnership between mentors and students—the shared questions, the hard-won discoveries, and the mutual dedication that drives scholarly pursuit,” Dean Young said. “As you celebrate today, remember to pay this encouragement forward in your classrooms, your labs, and your departments.”
Photography by Michael Hafenbredl, Film MFA Grad Student and GSA Videographer
Department of Film & Digital Media