March 30, 2016

SEC Announces 2016 Faculty Achievement Award Winners

SEC Faculty Achievement Award winners receive a $5,000 honorarium from the Southeastern Conference and become his or her university’s nominee for the SEC Professor of the Year Award
SEC Faculty Achievement Award winners receive a $5,000 honorarium from the Southeastern Conference and become his or her university’s nominee for the SEC Professor of the Year Award

By: Bryant Welbourne
SECU (Twitter: @TheSECU)

Recipients of the 2016 SEC Faculty Achievement Awards were announced by the Southeastern Conference office on Wednesday. These annual awards recognize faculty members from every SEC university who have outstanding records in teaching, research and scholarship.

To be eligible for the SEC Faculty Achievement Award, the individual must be a teacher or scholar at an SEC university; have achieved the rank of full professor; have a record of extraordinary teaching; and have a record of scholarship that is recognized nationally and/or internationally.

“The SEC Faculty Achievement Awards provide a unique opportunity for our conference to recognize the work of world renowned faculty members from each of our 14 universities,” said Nicholas S. Zeppos, Chancellor of Vanderbilt University and President of the Southeastern Conference. “This year’s winners represent some of the brightest and most accomplished individuals in their disciplines, and I offer each of them my sincerest congratulations.”

SEC Faculty Achievement Award winners receive a $5,000 honorarium from the Southeastern Conference and become his or her university’s nominee for the SEC Professor of the Year Award. The SEC Professor of the Year, to be named in April, receives an additional $15,000 honorarium and will be recognized at the SEC Awards Dinner.

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said, “The SEC is honored to support the scholarship and research of these 14 men and women, who represent nearly 14,000 full time, tenured professors in the SEC. We appreciate all they have done to empower and encourage students to make a difference, and to positively showcase the Southeastern Conference within the region and around the world.”

Selected by a committee of SEC Provosts, the SEC Faculty Achievement Awards and the SEC Professor of the Year Award are part of SECU, the academic initiative of the Southeastern Conference, which sponsors, supports and promotes collaborative higher education programs and activities involving administrators, faculty and students at its 14 member universities.

Below are the 2016 SEC Faculty Achievement Award recipients. Click here to read bios of the award winners.

NameUniversityTitle
Seth PanitchUniversity of AlabamaProfessor of Theatre
Dr. Rodolfo Nayga, Jr.University of ArkansasProfessor and Tyson Chair in Food Policy Economics
Dr. Hanqin TianAuburn UniversitySolon and Martha Dixon Endowed Professor
Dr. Jose PrincipeUniversity of FloridaDistinguished Professor of Electrical Engineering
Dr. Milton MasciadriUniversity of GeorgiaDistinguished University Professor of Music
Dr. W. Brent SealesUniversity of KentuckyProfessor of Computer Science
Dr. Isiah WarnerLouisiana State UniversityBoyd Professor of LSU System
Dr. Joey GrangerUniversity of MississippiBilly S. Guyton Distinguished Professor
T. Brent FunderburkMississippi State UniversityWilliam L. Giles Distinguished Professor
Dr. Glen CameronUniversity of MissouriProfessor of Journalism
Dr. Claudia Benitez-NelsonUniversity of South CarolinaCollege of Arts and Sciences Distinguished Professor
Dr. Susan RiechertUniversity of TennesseeDistinguished Service Professor
Dr. Rafael Lara-AlecioTexas A&M UniversityRegents Professor of Educational Psychology
Dr. Sankaran MahadevanVanderbilt UniversityProfessor of Engineering