Honors and Awards for Seven Women in Academia

Linda Allen, president of Hawkeye Community College in Waterloo, Iowa, is the recipient of the 2015 National Chief Executive Officer Award from the Association of Community College Trustees. She was honored at the association’s leadership conference in San Diego.

Dr. Allen was named vice president for academic affairs at Hawkeye Community College in 2006. She was promoted to president in 2011. Dr. Allen holds a Ph.D. in medical anthropology from the University of Iowa.

Cathy Whitlock, a professor of earth sciences at Montana State University, was selected to receive the 2015 Professional Excellence Award from the Association for Women Geoscientists. Professor Whitlock joined the Montana State faculty in 2007.

Dr. Whitlock is a magna cum laude graduate of Colorado College. She earned a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in geological sciences at the University of Washington.

Elba Serrano, a Regents Professor of biology at New Mexico State University, has been selected to receive the 2015 Distinguished Award from the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science. Her research focuses on neurosensory disorders of hearing and balance.

Professor Serrano is a graduate of the University of Rochester in New York, where she majored in physics. She holds a Ph.D. in biological sciences from Stanford University.

Liz Hollingworth, an associate professor of educational policy and leadership studies at the University of Iowa received the Distinguished Service Award from the University Council for Educational Administration.

Dr. Hollingworth joined the faculty at the University of Iowa in 2006. She is a graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles and holds a master’s degree from Northwestern University and a doctorate from the University of Iowa.

Carrie Oser, professor of sociology at the University of Kentucky, received the 2015 Senior Scholar award from the Alcohol, Drugs, and Tobacco Section of the American Sociological Association. She is the youngest recipient in the award’s history.

Dr. Oser joined the faculty at the University of Kentucky in 2004. She is a graduate of the University of Kentucky and holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Georgia.

Christine M. Colella, an associate professor in the College of Nursing of the University of Cincinnati, received the Excellence and Innovation in Teaching Award from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing.

Professor Colella holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing from the University of Cincinnati.

Dittika Gupta, an assistant professor in the department of curriculum and learning at Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas, received the 2015 Outstanding Dissertation Award from the School Science Mathematics Association.

Dr. Gupta’s dissertation, completed at the Baylor University School of Education, focused on the best practices for teaching fractions to young children.