The College of Arts and Sciences is offering of a new set of awards to recognize outstanding contributions by College faculty and staff in the key areas of inclusion, innovation, and impact. All College faculty and staff are eligible.  

For this year’s inaugural cycle, the College will present two awards in each of the following categories, for work that may fall under the traditional rubrics of research, teaching, or service, or anywhere in between these rubics.  

Awards will be presented in the following categories:

College Dean’s Award for Outstanding Contributions to an Inclusive Community

This award recognizes and honors the contributions of faculty and staff in building an inclusive community by raising awareness of opportunities and challenges, fostering dialogue, providing insight and innovations, and/or implementing change.

College Dean’s Award for Exceptional Innovation

This award recognizes and honors members of the College faculty and staff whose commitment to innovation has inspired our community. Typically, though not exclusively, this award will recognize scholarly innovation that has pushed the boundaries of a discipline or pedagogical innovation that has transformed the classroom experience of our students.

College Dean’s Award for Exceptional Impact

This award recognizes and honors the efforts of College faculty and staff who have directly influenced the development of a discipline, an institution, a community, or a group. Accordingly, winners will range from scholars whose contributions have helped define a field to faculty and staff whose mentorship has been critical to student success in a variety of venues.

The Nomination Process

Nominations should be made online at http://goo.gl/forms/oDSlHp13M9 and are limited to 500 words. Submit nominations by 5:00 p.m. on April 11. Winners will be announced at the reception following the College Dean’s Address on Wednesday, April 20.

Becca Peixotto

It is an enormous scientific find that will change our understanding of human history, and it is making international headlines. Fossils of a previously unknown member of the human family were discovered deep in a cave near Johannesburg, South Africa. A College of Arts and Sciences doctoral student was part of the team that excavated the remains.  

She is Becca Peixotto, an anthropology PhD student and a graduate of the CAS public anthropology master's program. The College profiled her and the National Geographic Society’s Rising Star Expedition in January 2014 after she earned her master’s degree at AU. 

Scientists are calling the new species “Homo naledi.” The team found more than 1,500 fossil pieces from up to 15 individuals of this new species. The expedition was led by Professor Lee Berger of the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. You can read details of the discovery online. 

Peixotto is co-author of a paper on the findings, published in the journal eLife.

NOVA and National Geographic Explorers will air a documentary on the expedition and its discovery, beginning September 16.  

Peixotto will discuss the Rising Star Expedition on Monday, September 28, as part of the Department of Anthropology Social Justice Colloquium Series.