Awards & Accolades
Marla Franco, assistant vice provost for Hispanic-Serving Institution initiatives and executive director of assessment, research and grant development in Student Affairs and Enrollment Management
Sheri Carson, clinical instructor in the College of Nursing
Thomas Koch, professor and dean of the College of Optical Sciences
Harrison Barrett, Regents' Professor of medical imaging, optical sciences and applied mathematics
Congratulations to these recent honorees.
Franco Given National Latina Leadership Award
Marla Franco, assistant vice provost for Hispanic-Serving Institution initiatives and executive director of assessment, research and grant development in Student Affairs and Enrollment Management, has been awarded the American College Personnel Association's Dr. John Hernandez Leadership Award.
The association aims to foster student learning by providing outreach, advocacy, research and professional development. Its Dr. John Hernandez Leadership Award is given to "an outstanding practitioner in higher education who has made significant contributions" to the Latino community on their campus or in the greater community.
Franco has worked since 2015 on efforts to have the UA recognized as a Hispanic-Serving Institution. The UA earned the designation, given by the U.S. Department of Education, in spring 2018.
COM-P Student Affairs Advising Team Nationally Recognized
The career and professional advising team at the UA College of Medicine – Phoenix has been awarded the 2018 Careers in Medicine Award for Excellence in Medical Student Career Advising from the Association of American Medical Colleges. The award was presented at the AAMC national conference in Austin, Texas, in November.
The AAMC is a membership organization for faculty members, medical students and resident physicians in the U.S. and Canada. Its aim is to improve health care for everyone through medical education, research and patient care.
The association's Careers in Medicine Awards for Excellence in Medical Student Advising recognize "the development and/or continued administration of a career development program for medical students."
Carson Named Arizona's Pediatric Nurse Practitioner of the Year
Sheri Carson, a clinical instructor in the College of Nursing, has been named the 2018 Pediatric Nurse Practitioner of the Year by the Arizona chapter of the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners. Carson was recognized at a symposium in Phoenix in November.
The national organization's mission involves improving health care for infants, children and adolescents. The state chapter's Pediatric Nurse Practitioner of the Year award recognizes a pediatric nurse practitioner "for his or her admirable character, selfless dedication, and outstanding efforts in elevating our profession in the community."
Carson's research involves the screening, recognition, treatment and prevention of child abuse. Her doctoral work involved developing a comprehensive tool to screen for child physical abuse. She became a clinical instructor at the UA in 2012.
Koch, Barrett Honored as National Academy of Inventors Fellows
Two UA faculty members – a Regents' Professor and a dean – have been named fellows of the National Academy of Inventors.
Thomas Koch, professor and dean of the College of Optical Sciences, and Harrison Barrett, Regents' Professor of medical imaging, optical sciences and applied mathematics, received the distinction last month. They will be inducted in April at the NAI's annual meeting in Houston.
The NAI, founded in 2010, aims to "recognize and encourage inventors with patents issued from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, enhance the visibility of academic technology and innovation, encourage the disclosure of intellectual property, educate and mentor innovative students, and translate the inventions of its members to benefit society." Election to NAI fellow status is the highest professional distinction awarded to academic inventors.
Many of the 37 patents that Koch holds became part of the infrastructure for modern optical telecommunications.
Barrett's inventions date back to 1974 and include 27 U.S. patents. While working at Raytheon Research Division in the 1960s and 1970s, he explored ways to detect the relative motion of sources of high-energy radiation. In 1974, he began his academic career at the UA, where his interests spread to tomographic imaging, scintillation cameras, CT scanning, and single-photon emission computerized tomography imaging devices – used for analyzing organs – and autoradiography.
Click here to read more about their induction as fellows.
We want to know about your good news. If you, your team or a colleague has won any major awards, been honored nationally or internationally, or accomplished some other major feat that deserves recognition, let us know about it.
To submit your news, please send us an email with the following information:
- Name of the person, team or unit receiving the honor with full UA titles.
- Information about the award/honor and the organization that granted it. Please include a link to the official announcement of the award/honor.
- When the honor was announced and when it will be presented (or was presented).
- A photo of the honoree. If others appear in the photo, please provide their names and identifying information, such as their UA title or other affiliation.
Questions? Contact Lo Que Pasa at uaatwork@email.arizona.edu.