Notable Honors or Awards for Nine Women at Colleges and Universities

Liliana Rodriguez, vice chancellor of campus life and inclusive excellence at the University of Denver, was awarded the 2018 James J. Rhatigan Outstanding Dean Award by the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators. This award is “presented to an individual who serves as the home institutions senior student affairs officer and has had a significant contribution to student affairs”

Dr. Rodriguez holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. She earned a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

Stephanie Adams, the dean of the Batten College of Engineering and Technology at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, has received the Harriet Tubman Award from the American Society for Engineering Education. This award is presented annually to an individual from an accredited engineering school for “advancing women of color in academic engineering.”

Dr. Adams received a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from North Carolina A&T State University, a master’s degree in systems engineering from the University of Virginia, and a Ph.D. in interdisciplinary engineering from Texas A&M University.

Through a contribution from its Black Philanthropy Circle, Indiana University is paying tribute to Professor Emerita Iris Rosa by naming the floor of the dance studio where she worked in her honor.

Rosa was part of the 1968 Indiana University Groups Scholars Program and was named director of the African American Dance Company at Indiana University Bloomington when it was created in 1974. She retired in 2017 after 43 years at the university.

Megan Dolbin-MacNab, an associate professor in the department of human development and family science at Virginia Tech, has been elected as a Fellow by the Gerontological Society of America in its Behavioral and Social Sciences Section. She has taught at Virginia Tech since 2004 and has served as the director of the marriage and therapy doctoral program since 2016.

Dr. Dolbin-MacNab earned her bachelor’s degree from Pennsylvania State University and her master’s and doctorate from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Catherine Ryu, an associate professor of Japanese literature at Michigan State University, has received the 2018 Esperanto “Access to Language Education” Award. This award was presented to Dr. Ryu by the Computer Assisted Language Consortium, the Esperantic Studies Foundation, and Lernu.net. She was honored for her online database of the Mandarin language, Tone Perfect.

Dr. Ryu earned her Ph.D. in Asian languages and cultures from Michigan State University.

Angela Spencer, associate professor of accounting at Oklahoma State University, was given the 2017 Mark Chain/FSA Teaching Innovation Award by the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants. The association presents this award annually to recognize exceptional graduate accounting course practices.

Dr. Spencer received a bachelor’s degree from the University of the Ozarks in Clarkesville, Arkansas, where she majored in accounting. She earned an MBA from the University of Central Arkansas and a Ph.D. in accounting from the University of Arkansas.

Stacey Drury, a child psychiatry professor from Tulane University in New Orleans, has been recognized with the 2018 Norbert And Charlotte Rieger Award for Outstanding Scientific Achievement from the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

Dr. Drury holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia and a master’s degree in human genetics from the University of Michigan. She earned her Ph.D. in genetics and biometry and a medical doctorate from the Louisiana State University Health Science Center.

Caitlin Youngquist, a University of Wyoming Extension educator, has received an Achievement Award from the National Association of County Agricultural Agents for excellence in her field.

Dr. Youngquist earned her bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees from Washington State University.

Reeta Rao, associate professor of biology and biotechnology at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts, has been recognized with the 2018 SIMB Waksman Outstanding Teaching Award by the Society for Industrial Microbiology.

Dr. Rao received a bachelor’s of science in pharmacy from the Birla Institute of Science and Technology in Pilani, India. She earned master’s degrees in bioscience and biotechnology and environmental sciences at Drexel University in Philadelphia. Additionally she holds a Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biology from the Pennsylvania State University.