SEC Selects 2018 Faculty Achievement Award Recipients

March 28, 2018

2018 SEC Faculty Achievement Award winners named from each SEC university.

By: Torie Johnson
SECU (Twitter: @TheSECU)

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Faculty members from each SEC university have been named recipients of the 2018 SEC Faculty Achievement Award, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey announced Wednesday. The awards, now in their seventh year, honor one individual from each SEC university who has excelled in teaching and research.

To be eligible for consideration, 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 research that is recognized nationally and/or internationally.

“The SEC Faculty Achievement Awards continue to provide us with a unique opportunity to celebrate faculty from our conference who have demonstrated a commitment to our students while also making meaningful contributions in their fields,” said Sankey. “Although we have chosen to honor 14, we know they are truly representative of all SEC faculty members.”

Each SEC Faculty Achievement Award winner will receive a $5,000 honorarium from the SEC and will 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.

“The SEC is home to 14 of the finest universities in the nation, and our faculty are some of the most accomplished individuals in academia,” said Dr. Mark E. Keenum, President of Mississippi State University and President of the Southeastern Conference. “We are delighted to have a way to recognize their achievements, and along with the other SEC Presidents and Chancellors, I offer each of them my sincere congratulations.”

The SEC Faculty Achievement Awards and the SEC Professor of the Year Award are both selected by the SEC Provosts, and they are two foundational programs designed by the SEC to support and promote the academic endeavors and achievements of its students, faculty and administrators.

There are approximately 14,000 full-time, tenured faculty in the SEC, and below is a list of the 2018 SEC Faculty Achievement Award recipients.

Name	University	Title
Dr. Trudier Harris	University of Alabama	University Distinguished Research Professor of English
Dr. Peter Ungar	University of Arkansas	Distinguished Professor of Anthropology
Dr. David Ketchen	Auburn University	Harbert Eminent Scholar and Professor of Management
Dr. Scott Powers	University of Florida	UAA Endowed Professor and Distinguished Professor
Dr. Mary Ann Moran	University of Georgia	Distinguished Research Professor
Dr. Issam Harik	University of Kentucky	Raymond-Blythe Professor of Civil Engineering
Dr. Ward Plummer	Louisiana State University	Boyd Professor of Physics
Dr. Jane Reckelhoff	University of Mississippi	Billy S. Guyton Distinguished Professor
Dr. James Fowler	Mississippi State University	Billie J. Ball Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Dr. Inder Khurana	University of Missouri	Geraldine Trulaske Chair in Accountancy
Dr. Julius Fridriksson	University of South Carolina	USC Health Sciences Distinguished Professor
Dr. Louis Gross	University of Tennessee	Alvin and Sally Beaman Distinguished Professor
Dr. Marcetta Darensbourg	Texas A&M University	Distinguished Professor of Chemistry
Dr. Kathleen Gould	Vanderbilt University	Louise B. McGavock Endowed Professor