The University of Arizona will celebrate the groundbreaking research and transformative teaching practices of its educators at the 2025 Luminaries Outstanding Faculty Awards, held Oct. 16 at the Stevie Eller Dance Theatre.

The event honors faculty achievements and the visionaries who push boundaries and set new standards of excellence, highlighted by the awarding of Regents Professorships.

The title of Regents Professor is the highest faculty rank at the U of A and is reserved for professors whose exceptional achievements merit national and international recognition. Regents Professor appointments are limited to no more than 3% of the university's tenured and tenure-track faculty.

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This year, the U of A will recognize three new Regents Professors, whose appointments were confirmed by the Arizona Board of Regents in April. One of those honorees is Jiang Wu, professor of East Asian studies and director of the Center for Buddhist Studies.

Wu said he feels both lucky and grateful to be named a Regents Professor, calling the recognition "an affirmation of not only my efforts, but humanities research in general."

"We often say that conducting humanities research is a labor of love," he said. "We want our work to be read by others in our field, and if possible, by a wider audience so we have an impact in this world. Being named a Regents Professor is definitely an honor beyond my expectations."

A leading scholar of Chinese and East Asian Buddhism, Wu has spent decades deepening his understanding of humanity through the study of religion and religious traditions. His research explores the spread of Buddhism, its transformations over time and the refinement of its teachings across centuries. 

"Buddhism came from India and spread into Central and East Asia before making its way at the turn of the century into Western Europe and the United States," he said. "The history of that journey is very important because it tells a story of international, human connection and the cultivation of spirituality. Our mission is to connect with research groups from around the world to collect and understand original Buddhist texts and digitize them for future generations and other researchers."

While the Regents Professor appointments recognize years of faculty scholarship and dedication, the Outstanding Faculty Awards also celebrate the achievements of newer faculty. 

Among them is Kerri Rodriguez, assistant professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine and director of the Human-Animal Bond Lab. She will be recognized with an Early Career Scholar Award.

Rodriguez called the recognition "incredibly motivating" for a relatively new tenure-track professional.

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"The College of Veterinary Medicine has assembled the largest group of faculty members in the world studying the human-animal bond, and made that a central focus of our mission," she said. "It is a very small field, and to celebrate and recognize our work means a lot. I appreciate not only our college, but President Garimella and Provost Prelock for supporting our research." 

Rodriguez joined the U of A in 2023 after completing a postdoctoral research fellowship at Colorado State University. Her research examines the health impacts of human-animal relationships by integrating veterinary medicine, psychology and animal behavior. Her work has explored the benefits of assistance dogs for individuals with disabilities, the influence of therapy and facility dogs on staff and client well-being, and the potential stress-buffering effects of canine companionship.

"If you ask anyone with a pet dog how many times a day animals make them smile or feel good, we all know how often that happens," she said. "Our goal is to put strong science and data behind those stories in order to document and quantify how animals can be impactful in clinical applications. Pets are not a cure-all solution, but a means of assisting in PTSD care, or working with children with autism, or first responders. We want to develop the science behind those relationships."

Rodriguez, Wu and dozens of other faculty members will be honored at the 2025 Luminaries Outstanding Faculty Awards. The ceremony begins at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 16, at the Stevie Eller Dance Theatre.

Registration is available online. More information, including a full list of honoree and their bios, can be found on the event's website.