On Tuesday, April 30, Trinity University recognized members of the faculty and staff for their outstanding commitment to student advocacy, inclusivity, advising, research, teaching, and mentorship. Read more about this year’s awardees and how they contribute to Trinity’s mission of championing student success and cultivating excellence, both in and out of the classroom.
Dr. and Mrs. Z. T. Scott Faculty Fellowship
The Dr. and Mrs. Z.T. Scott Faculty Fellowship is the highest recognition of excellence in teaching and advising at Trinity and is the most prestigious faculty award the University bestows. The fellowship consists of a cash award and an additional stipend to be used by the recipient to enhance their professional development as a teacher and adviser. Trustee Emeritus Richard M. Kleberg III established the fellowship in 1984 in honor of his grandparents, Dr. and Mrs. Z.T. Scott.
- Charlene Davis, Ph.D.
Professor and Chair, Business Administration
Charlene Davis has built up a record of sustained excellence in teaching and advising over her past 27 years at Trinity University. Current and former students describe Davis’s teaching as challenging, creative, and supportive. They praise her ability to bring marketing concepts to life in the classroom, and they express gratitude for her determination to continue mentoring alumni as they pursue careers after graduation. It would be difficult to find a college professor at any institution who focuses more intentionally on student well-being. When asked to summarize her teaching philosophy, Davis offers the following inspiring assessment: “If I approach teaching with joy, students may find joy in learning. If I approach teaching with respect for its transformative strength, students may find strength and power in learning. If I approach teaching with belief in its dignity and purposefulness, students may find the same in learning.”
Distinguished Achievement Awards
The Distinguished Achievement Awards recognize faculty and staff who have shown outstanding dedication and accomplishments at the University. Employees have been recognized for excellence in areas including advising and mentoring; scholarship, research, or creative work; university, community, and professional service; and early career teaching and scholarship and receive a $2,000 award for their efforts.
Early Career Award for Distinguished Teaching and Research
- Erin Kramer, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, History
Erin Kramer has created seven new courses since arriving at Trinity, introducing a robust sequence of courses in the field of Native American and Indigenous studies. Her teaching philosophy is grounded in the notion of teaching “from below,” in order to center perspectives of individuals and groups whose voices have been silenced by traditional historical sources and methods. Kramer’s peer-reviewed articles have been recognized with two major awards, including the annual John M. Murrin Prize for the best article published in Early American Studies. Her monograph, The Ancient House: Constructing Community in the Seventeenth-Century New York Borderlands, is under contract with the University of North Carolina Press. Kramer was an active participant in the Roots Commission at Trinity, and she is currently collaborating with the Bexar County Historical Society to create internship opportunities for Trinity students to create or revise historical markers focusing on the Indigenous history of San Antonio.
- Kathryn Vomero Santos, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, English
Kathryn Vomero Santos is a field-shifting teacher-scholar whose work has “redefined,” in the words of one colleague, “what literature and literary studies are for.” Since coming to Trinity, Santos has produced nine peer-reviewed articles and chapters, a co-edited anthology of Shakespearean adaptations entitled The Bard in the Borderlands, and a forthcoming co-edited essay collection. A monograph, Shakespeare in Tongues, is in progress and under contract. The Bard in the Borderlands project is currently supported by a $500,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. As a teacher, Santos has contributed to the First-Year Experience program, the Women’s and Gender Studies Program, the Medieval and Renaissance Studies Program, and the Global Latinx Studies Program. She has developed a number of innovative courses such as “Absent Women in Shakespeare,” “Decolonial Shakespeares,” “Shakespeare in Tongues,” and “Shakespeare and Race,” all of which were directly inspired by her exciting research agenda.
Award for Distinguished Advising and Mentoring
- Kyralyssa Hauger-Sanchez, Ph.D.
Lecturer, Chemistry
Kyralyssa Hauger-Sanchez serves as the academic advisor to students pursuing both chemistry and biochemistry and molecular biology majors. She works closely with students in each major, discussing options for opportunities within and beyond their degree programs. In addition, Hauger-Sanchez regularly schedules check-ins with the almost 100 students in her lower-division chemistry classes and oversees the peer tutoring program in chemistry. One of Hauger-Sanchez’s advisees writes, “Her compassionate approach was not only comforting but also transformative. [She] helped me realize that people genuinely wanted to see me succeed and believed that I was worth the investment of time and effort to foster a meaningful relationship.”
Award for Distinguished University, Community, and Professional Service
- Glenn Kroeger, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Geosciences
Glenn Kroeger is respected across campus as a dedicated servant-leader. Having served multiple terms on the University Curriculum Council (UCC), Kroeger was also an indispensable member of several committees that worked to design the Pathways curriculum. He went on to chair the UCC throughout the 2014-15 academic year, when the UCC undertook the task of populating the Pathways elements. In the community beyond Trinity, Kroeger has presented to the Southwest Gem and Mineral Society, the Geology Club of San Antonio, and the Rotary Club of Boerne. He designed, coordinated, and presented multiple iterations of an all‐day earth science experience for seventh graders as part of the HHMI‐funded Trinity Science Academy. Kroeger was a leading member of the Education and Outreach Committee of the Incorporated Institutions for Seismology (IRIS), which is committed to advancing awareness and understanding of seismology and geophysics while inspiring careers in the Earth sciences.
Award for Distinguished Scholarship, Research, or Creative Work or Activity
- Claudia Stokes, Ph.D.
Professor, English
Claudia Stokes is a renowned scholar of 19th-century American literature, with particular expertise in the era’s women writers. She has published three monographs, two of them with the University of Pennsylvania Press, the top press in her field. Stokes’s edition of Elizabeth Stuart Phelps’s The Gates Ajar was published by Penguin in 2019, and she has since been commissioned by Oxford University Press to edit the two volumes of Religious Writings in the Collected Writings of Harriet Beecher Stowe, a project supported by a $45,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Her scholarly publications have been recognized by several major awards and prizes, including the 1921 Essay Prize awarded by the American Literature Society, the Florence Howe Award in English given by the Women’s Caucus of Modern Languages, and an honorable mention for the triennial book prize awarded by the Society for the Study of American Women Writers.
Dr. Danny J. Anderson Faculty Prize
The Danny J. Anderson Faculty Prize was created to honor the presidency of Danny J. Anderson, Ph.D., who retired in May 2022. The fundamental purpose of this award is to recognize exceptional contributions by Trinity faculty members in the mentorship of research students. All tenured and tenure-track faculty members are eligible for consideration. This award is made possible by combined gifts from the Trinity University Board of Trustees and Board of Visitors.
- John Anders, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Economics
In four short years at Trinity, John Anders has guided undergraduate research for more than 20 undergraduate students in the Department of Economics and the Urban Studies Program. Most of these students have participated in a multi-institutional research project funded by the Russell Sage Foundation, a project that uses data to measure the long-run impacts of redlining policies and racial segregation. Under the direction of this dedicated teacher-scholar, students have learned and used such diverse methods as text analysis, web scraping, and GIS coding. Most recently, Anders has collaborated with an undergraduate co-author to produce a paper suggesting that growing up in a desegregated school environment can reduce the likelihood of adulthood criminality. By mentoring undergraduate research students and building collaborative research networks across universities, Anders is helping to advance Trinity’s mission to foster excellence in innovation.
Dr. Deneese L. Jones Award for Inclusive Excellence
Dr. Deneese L. Jones is a multicultural educator, scholar of equity pedagogy, and senior academic leader with a career in education spanning more than 40 years. She served as vice president for Academic Affairs at Trinity University from 2016-21 and was the first woman of color to serve as Trinity’s chief academic officer. In honor of Dr. Jones, two $2,000 awards are given annually to one tenured or tenure-track faculty member and one staff member for their outstanding support of inclusive excellence.
- LadyStacie Rimes-Boyd, J.D.
Associate Director, Campus Relations, Center for Experiential Learning and Career Success (CELCS)
LadyStacie Rimes-Boyd has embraced building a better Trinity community since joining our campus in 2014. In addition to her dedication to helping students succeed through the CELCS, Rimes-Boyd has taken on several key service pieces across campus. She has served as vice chair of the Pre-Law Advisory Committee, co-advisor to the Trinity Pre-Law Society and the Black Student Union, member of the Trinity Strengths team, member of the Inclusive Excellence Advisory Council, and former advisor to Trinity University Volunteer Action Community. She is also one of the facilitators for the Black Faculty and Staff group, which creates community, networking, and professional support for our Black (African-American, African, and Diaspora) colleagues.
- Corina Maeder ’99, Ph.D.
Associate Professor and Chair, Chemistry
Corina Maeder has worked to provide an equitable, inclusive, and welcoming environment for all while doing exceptional work as a teacher-scholar and department chair. As chair, Maeder has motivated her department to improve their faculty search process by implementing the use of anonymized candidate materials and to extensively overhaul their evaluation rubrics to minimize implicit bias. Maeder incorporates discussions about how systemic racism affects science and medicine into the biochemistry curriculum. At the University level, she organized Trinity’s chapter of the Tri-Alpha national honor society for first-generation college students, helping to build community and support for first-generation students, staff, and faculty. She has served on committees to build equitable practices, such as the Inclusive Excellence Advisory Council and the DEI Center working group. At the community level, Maeder has run the Women in STEM Day high school program for the past 10 years, raising $65,000 in grants for research internships and field trips.
President’s Award for Exceptional Service to Students
The President’s Award for Exceptional Service to Students recognizes one staff member and one faculty member who have been significant partners in supporting student success both inside and outside the classroom. Awardees are chosen based on how they support student success in and/or outside the classroom and how they go beyond the typical responsibilities of their role, and they receive a $2,000 award for their service.
- Betty Curry
Director, Academic Support
Betty Curry is hailed by students as a “shining example of a staff member who has been a significant partner in supporting student success inside and outside of the classroom.” Behind the scenes, Curry has developed the Skyline Scholars Program to reflect the evolving needs of first-year students, and she is a key collaborator on a team including colleagues across Academic Affairs, Student Affairs, and Athletics that supports students in times of need. Students who nominated Curry for this award noted that she is a person who is ready to work with them to achieve their goals; that she reflects a holistic, student-centered philosophy; and that she is someone who cares for them as human beings.
- Kelly Grey Carlisle, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, English
Kelly Grey Carlisle exemplifies all aspects of a supportive professor and mentor, championing students’ success both in and out of the classroom. Numerous students express that Carlisle’s kindness, joy, positivity, and outward concern for their wellbeing and success help them become the best version of themselves. Carlisle’s student-centered approach to her courses and work ensures that students can be successful, in both her nonfiction writing classroom and beyond. In her classes, Carlisle creates a welcoming and inclusive environment where all students’ voices are heard and respected from day one.
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