Faculty Awards Ceremony

The Office of the Provost takes great pride in celebrating faculty and staff excellence at the University of South Carolina. Each year, the faculty awards ceremony provides an opportunity to formally recognize the exceptional work our faculty and staff are doing, spotlighting remarkable teaching, advising, service and research.

Spanning diverse disciplines and boasting impressive resumes of accomplishments, the 2024 awardees exemplify a steadfast commitment to academic excellence, flourishing research and transformative teaching in our university community.

USC Columbia Teaching Awards

Dr. Joynelle Jackson, Ed.D., MSN, RNC-MNN

Associate Professor
College of Nursing

Dr. Joynelle Jackson is an associate professor in the College of Nursing. She has nearly two decades of experience in the nursing profession and is involved in extensive community-based research on breastfeeding education and support. As a graduate of the College of Education, she is an expert in curricular development and classroom management, which she has used to develop and deliver innovative, engaging upper-level nursing courses in both face-to-face and online formats. Dr. Jackson’s network of health care relationships throughout the state helped her successfully place hundreds of students in their clinical preceptorships at hospitals and recruit students to the online RN to BSN program, which she directed from 2016 to 2022. She was instrumental in allowing students to complete the required rigorous 266-hour clinical experience in a virtual format during the pandemic.

Dr. Sara Lindsey, M.D.

Assistant Clinical Professor
Pediatrics
School of Medicine Columbia

Dr. Sara Lindsey is an assistant clinical professor of pediatrics at the School of Medicine Columbia. She has been a faculty member at the School of Medicine for 17 years and holds a clinical position at Prisma Children’s Hospital, where she educates many of her former students who are completing their residencies. Dr. Lindsey values experiential learning, creating interactive, case-based learning sessions as well as providing hands-on task training and simulated patient encounters at the Prisma Health Simulation Center. She also serves as a faculty advisor for a number of student interest groups, including the Pediatric Interest Group, one of the most active student organizations at the School of Medicine. Dr. Lindsey is dedicated to fostering lifelong learning, encouraging personal development and providing a four-year mentorship experience to her students.

Dr. Ken Shimizu

Professor
Chemistry and Biochemistry
College of Arts and Sciences

Dr. Ken Shimizu is a professor of chemistry and biochemistry in the College of Arts and Sciences. He has been a faculty member at the university since 1997 and served as department chair for six years. He is also a past winner of the Michael J. Mungo Undergraduate Teaching Award and the Russell Research Award for Science, Mathematics, and Engineering. Dr. Shimizu regularly teaches organic chemistry at the undergraduate level, using adaptable and student-centered approaches to instruction that reflect in both stellar end-of-course evaluations and student course outcomes. Besides his commendable instruction, he excels at providing support and mentorship outside the classroom, training undergraduate and graduate researchers, and co-authoring publications with his students. We are pleased to name Dr. Shimizu the 2024 Michael J. Mungo Distinguished Professor of the Year.

Dr. Subrahmanyam Bulusu

Professor
Earth, Ocean and Environment
College of Arts and Sciences

Dr. Subrahmanyam Bulusu is a professor in the School of the Earth, Ocean and Environment at the College of Arts and Sciences and has been with the university since 2005. He has used his expertise in oceanography to build and develop new courses in satellite oceanography and sea-air interaction for the physical oceanography graduate program, as well as redesign core graduate courses in marine science. Dr. Bulusu is actively involved in graduate training through research supervision, mentoring and advising, he has authored or co-authored 95 peer-reviewed publications, and his students have published 70 papers as first authors in major journals under his supervision. He is a passionate, committed professor whose goal is to produce future colleagues in the field of marine science.

Dr. Kelly Goldberg

Clinical Assistant Professor
Anthropology
South Carolina Honors College

Dr. Kelly Goldberg is a Clinical Assistant Professor of anthropology for the South Carolina Honors College, where she teaches the human origins laboratory course and offers service and experiential learning opportunities for students across the university. She has a passion for fostering interdisciplinary research and ensuring accessibility to historical, archaeological and anthropological research with an emphasis on social justice. Dr. Goldberg’s annual summer archaeology field school is a key component of the department of anthropology’s training mission, and she is committed to outreach for underrepresented communities in her field, including high school and HBCU students. She is an outstanding instructor whose work in accessibility led to her creation of an online course on biological anthropology, allowing a fully online core lab course offered during the pandemic.

Dr. Jeanne Britton

Curator
Irvin Department of Rare Books and Special Collections
University Libraries

Dr. Jeanne Britton is a curator of the Irvin Department of Rare Books and Special Collections at University Libraries, holding one of few such positions nationwide. She regularly teaches courses through the College of Arts and Sciences as well as seminars in the South Carolina Honors College. Dr. Britton thoughtfully integrates materials from the Irvin Department’s collections into her coursework, helping students achieve traditional objectives but also have unique experiences in hands-on research and experiential learning. She is consistently commended by students for her ability to guide discussions, her true interest in student success and her sense of humor. In addition to teaching, Dr. Britton’s digital humanities projects allow student employees to gain humanities research experience, resulting in consistent grant funding and producing several Magellan Scholars.

Dr. Ӧzgür İnce

Clinical Associate Professor
Finance
Darla Moore School of Business

Dr. Ӧzgür İnce is a clinical associate professor of finance in the Darla Moore School of Business. He teaches several large sections of finance courses that all business majors are required to take, earning consistently high rankings in spite of class size due to his commitment to strong instruction and integration with current events. Dr. İnce values student engagement with the course material and was among the first in his department to use student response technology such as iClicker and TopHat, leading his colleagues in the effective transition to online learning during the pandemic. He wrote his own course textbook and hosts the book as well as other recorded material on TopHat for only $6, collectively saving his students more than $50,000 per semester.

Dr. Armen Shaomian

Associate Professor
Sport and Entertainment Management
College Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management

Dr. Armen Shaomian is an associate professor of sport and entertainment management in the College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management. He is a classically trained pianist with extensive experience in live music entertainment, using current events, guest speakers and online media content to engage his students both inside and beyond the classroom. Dr. Shaomian is passionate about teaching and mentorship, serving as faculty principal of the Preston Residential College for Leadership. As the only tenured faculty member specializing in entertainment management, his courses play a key role in educating students in the sport and entertainment management curriculum. Dr. Shaomian developed six new courses as well as fully revising three other courses to provide more comprehensive offerings, which position his students to be more competitive in a fast-paced industry.

USC Columbia Research Awards

Dr. Peter Chametzky

Professor
Art History
School of Visual Art and Design

Dr. Peter Chametzky is a professor of art history in the School of Visual Art and Design who has been with the university since 2012. He is one of the world’s leading scholars of 20th- and 21st-century German art, focusing on contemporary German art through the lens of an increasingly diverse German society and 21st-century German art from a multinational perspective. Dr. Chametzky has been invited to speak nationally and internationally at various institutions, and his book Turks, Jews, and Other Germans was recently published by MIT Press. It is the first book to approach the study of art in Germany today from a multicultural perspective. His works are groundbreaking in his field and have firmly established him as an influential figure in German art history.

Dr. Natalia Shustova

Professor
Chemistry and Biochemistry
College of Arts and Sciences

Dr. Natalia Shustova is a professor of chemistry and biochemistry in the College of Arts and Sciences. She is an internationally renowned researcher in the field of sustainable energy, with 114 publications and a “highly cited” designation from the Royal Chemistry Society. She is a past winner of the Sloan Research Award, Cottrell Scholar Award and Dreyfus Teaching-Scholar Award, all of which are extremely competitive national recognitions. Dr. Shustova researches nuclear waste management at Savannah River National Laboratory and also explores solar energy as a clean energy alternative. She is equally dedicated to outreach, facilitating the Women-in-Science Program, designed to bring together initiatives that support African American women pursuing STEM professions in South Carolina. Dr. Shustova has mentored more than 55 undergraduate students in research, 14 of whom are past Magellan Scholars.

Dr. Igor Roninson

Professor and Director of the COBRE Center for Targeted Therapeutics
Drug Discovery and Biomedical Sciences
College of Pharmacy

Dr. Igor Roninson is the director of the COBRE Center for Targeted Therapeutics and a professor of drug discovery and biomedical sciences in the College of Pharmacy. He has been at USC since 2011 and is nationally and internationally renowned for his work on cancer treatment. Dr. Roninson studies factors impacting cancer at the genetic level and is credited with discovering an explanation underlying relapse in cancers that appear to respond well to initial treatment. He is an extremely productive researcher, with 182 published scientific articles and 48 U.S.-issued patents. Dr. Roninson is founder of Senex Biotechnology, where his advanced prostate cancer drugs are undergoing clinical trials. His research productivity and innovation have been crucial to building out drug development infrastructure at the university, bolstering junior faculty recruitment efforts.

Dr. Jessica Barnes

Associate Professor
Geography; Earth, Ocean and Environment
College of Arts and Sciences

Dr. Jessica Barnes is an associate professor in the Department of Geography and the School of the Earth, Ocean and Environment in the College of Arts and Sciences. She has been with the university since 2013 and is an interdisciplinary researcher who studies geography, environmental anthropology and the Middle East. Specifically, her research explores intersections between climate, water and food and is grounded in Egypt, where she has conducted extensive ethnographic fieldwork following the Arab Spring. Dr. Barnes is a productive researcher with a global reputation for her unique analyses and methodological flexibility ranging from ethnography to rigorous secondary source analysis to systematic interviews. Her work is cutting-edge in its field for its integration of widely studied topics such as food and water with global issues including supply chain challenges, political life and gender.

Dr. Anthony Plotner

Professor
Educational and Developmental Science
College of Education

Dr. Anthony Plotner is a professor of educational and developmental science in the College of Education. He is a leading scholar in the field of special education. Dr. Plotner researches critical topics including the experiences of college students with disabilities, implications for inclusive postsecondary education programs, and the challenges and successes of postsecondary transitional services. He is a prolific publisher with extensive external funding totaling more than $8 million and is committed to making a tangible difference in the lives of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities through his work. He founded Carolina LIFE (Learning is for Everyone) in 2008, offering a postsecondary training program to improve employment and independent living outcomes for individuals with disabilities. The program boasts a 100 percent graduation rate.

USC Columbia Other Awards

Dr. Jeffrey Turner

Senior Instructor and Undergraduate Advisor
Philosophy
College of Arts and Sciences

Dr. Jeffrey Turner is a senior instructor and undergraduate advisor in the College of Arts and Sciences. He began his career at the university as a philosophy instructor in 2006, but since 2012, he has also served as an academic advisor to his department. Dr. Turner’s approach to advising emphasizes providing each student with a one-of-a-kind experience suited to meeting their academic and professional needs. Thanks to his deep institutional knowledge, he is a valuable resource to other advisors across the university. His department is relatively small, with 60-80 majors, so Dr. Turner is also committed to being available to students and colleagues. He has a goal of demystifying the academic bulletin for his advisees and making curricular requirements accessible so that students can feel confident in their understanding of their degree path.

Kate Blanton

Academic Advisor
Office of Student Services
College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management

Kate Blanton is an academic advisor and adjunct instructor in the College of Hospitality, Sport and Retail Management. She has been at USC since 2016 and has built her advising philosophy around being accessible to students and providing an open, efficient line of communication. Blanton especially values creating opportunities to positively impact students’ college experiences through fostering academic and professional growth. She regularly volunteers around campus on committees, as an evaluator for HRSM professional development courses and with campus move-in activities to increase her interaction with the Carolina community. In her role as an instructor, Blanton has taken an innovative approach to teaching, including a highly anticipated course — Life is Just a Classroom: Taylor’s Version — she will be teaching in spring 2024.

Dr. Sanjay Ahire

Co-Director of Operations and Supply Chain Center, Michael J. Mungo Distinguished Professor
Management Science
Darla Moore School of Business

Dr. Sanjay Ahire is a co-director of the Operations and Supply Chain Center as well as a Michael J. Mungo Distinguished Professor of management science in the Darla Moore School of Business. When he arrived at USC in 2006, he redesigned his department’s structure to create a practice-based program that produces some of the most qualified management sciences graduates in the country. Dr. Ahire seamlessly integrates teaching, research, and service as a professor, and his students benefit from his use of experiential learning to teach practical competencies as well as his commitment to life-long career mentoring. He values high impact applied research in evaluation and application of operations and supply chain management improvement techniques. He developed and leads the Operations and Supply Chain Humanitarian Initiative, helping various local organization maximize resource use to serve at-risk populations.

Dr. Qian Wang

Carolina Distinguished Professor, Department Chair
Chemistry and Biochemistry
College of Arts and Sciences

Dr. Qian Wang is a Carolina Distinguished Professor and department chair of chemistry and biochemistry in the College of Arts and Sciences. During his 20 years at USC, Dr. Wang has developed a world-class research program in chemistry, biomaterials science and nanotechnology that has received national and international recognition. He leads his field in studying hierarchical assembly of proteins and nanoproteins, with more than 260 publications, high citation rates and $12 million in external funding. Dr. Wang is passionate about mentoring undergraduate researchers and has supervised over 90 graduate-level and post-doctoral students. He also works to introduce young people to science research at a young age, creating a summer camp for bionanotechnology at USC that hosts high school and college students, in addition to his work as a science advisor at Dreher High School.

Dr. Toni Torres-McGehee, Ph.D., SCAT, ATC

Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Graduate Athletic Training Program Director and Associate Professor
Exercise Science
Arnold School of Public Health

Dr. Toni Torres-McGehee is the associate dean for diversity, equity and inclusion; graduate athletic training program director; and an associate professor in the Arnold School of Public Health. She has demonstrated a high level of commitment to service throughout her 18 years with the university. Dr. Torres-McGehee mentored and chaired research for 6 doctoral students, 82 master’s students and 25 undergraduate students and has served on committees for 14 dissertations and 34 master’s projects. As director of the athletic training clinical outreach service program, she helps provide training services to eight counties in South Carolina and secure diverse clinical experiences for students. Throughout her five years as associate dean of diversity, equity and inclusion, she has helped foster a culture of equity and inclusion at the Arnold School of Public Health through educational opportunities and programming.

Comprehensive Universities and Palmetto College Awards

Dr. Cindy Lahar

Professor, Program Coordinator
Psychology
USC Beaufort

Dr. Cindy Lahar is a professor and program coordinator of psychology at USC Beaufort. Dr. Lahar is a highly effective and impactful professor who prioritizes advising and mentorship, with 76 active undergraduate mentees last year. She played a key role in re-envisioning the psychology program, growing the full-time psychology faculty from three to six members, and she played a pivotal role in making the program the fastest-growing major at USCB and third-largest major at the institution. Beyond her impact on her own students, Dr. Lahar mentors junior faculty within her program and recently served as director of research at USCB, leading the institution to its highest level of sponsored awards funding in its history.

Dr. David Dangerfield

Associate Professor
History
USC Salkehatchie

Dr. David Dangerfield is an associate professor of history at USC Salkehatchie who is actively involved in service to his campus, university system, community and discipline. Dr. Dangerfield contributes to several committees, including tenure and promotion, Palmetto College Faculty Senate Executive Committee and the Palmetto College Provost’s Academic Advisory Committee. He engages in public-facing work through lectures and forums and has been part of community outreach efforts on citizen advisory committees for the city of Barnwell, where his input guides decisions on distribution of federal funds for community development programs. Dr. Dangerfield is a volunteer consultant for the South Carolina State Museum and Allendale County SC250 Committee, where he supports historical research and interpretation initiatives. Within the broader history field, he contributes to the EC Foundation Board of Directors, supporting higher education and alumni engagement.

Dr. Dana Lawrence

Professor
English
USC Lancaster

Dr. Dana Lawrence is an associate professor of English and former Director of the Academic Success Center at USC Lancaster. She emphasizes unique and dynamic course design that features ongoing feedback, multimodal assignments including creation and analysis of fairy tale illustrations, and holistic grading based on student growth and accountability. Dr. Lawrence actively advises and mentors her students, facilitating independent research projects. She accompanied a student who was presenting work at the Children’s Literature Association Conference and assisted in helping the student expand her paper for journal submission. Dr. Lawrence engages in continuous professional development, such as participating in workshops on metacognition, to improve her teaching strategies and student learning outcomes.

Dr. Justin Mogilski

Associate Professor
Psychology
USC Salkehatchie

Dr. Justin Mogilski is an associate professor of evolutionary psychology at USC Salkehatchie. He teaches introductory and advanced courses in psychology on both campuses. Dr. Mogilski has published in a number of highly ranked journals, with peer-reviewed research that examines conflict resolution within consensually non-monogamous romantic relationships (polyamory, open relationships, swinging), how evolution has shaped moral decision-making about conduct in social and personal relationships, and individual differences in predatory intimate relationship behaviors. He currently leads an international team of evolutionary, sexuality, and relationship scientists studying relationship maintenance strategies for consensual non-monogamous partnerships.

Office of the Provost