Notable Awards for Three Women Scholars at U.S. Universities

Phyllis Sharps, professor and associate dean for community programs and initiatives in the School of Nursing at John Hopkins University in Baltimore, was awarded the 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award in Education and Research from the Association of Black Nursing Faculty.

Dr. Sharps is a graduate of the Nursing University of Maryland. She earned a master’s degree in maternal and child health nursing education from the University of Delaware and a Ph.D. in nursing from the University of Maryland, Baltimore.

Susan Poyo, an assistant professor of education at Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio, received the 2016 Research Award from the International Association of K-12 Online Learning. The award recognizes breakthroughs that promote excellence in online learning and teaching.

Dr Poyo is a magna cum laude graduate of Florida State University, where she majored in elementary mathematics education. She holds a master’s degree in education from Franciscan University of Steubenville and an educational doctorate from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh.

Kayla Rhidenour, a lecturer in the department of communication at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, has been selected to receive the 2016 Gerald R. Miller Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award from the National Communication Association.

Dr. Rhidenour is being honored for her dissertation entitled, “The Mediated Veteran: How News Sources Narrate the Pain and Potential of Returning Soldiers.” She earned her Ph.D. at the University of Texas at Austin.