Graduate Student Governance and Awards
Graduate Student Assembly—Organized in 1978 as the governance organization for the graduate and professional community of the university. The person heading the GSA was called the speaker until 1994, when the title was changed to president. There are two affiliate organizations to represent graduate students in off-campus programs, the GSA National Capital Region and the Roanoke Graduate Student Assembly.
Graduate Student Assembly Speakers/Presidents
1978 Joyce Foster
1978-79 Ali Ghalambar
1979-80 Doug Hausler
1980-81 Ole Meland
1981-82 Sandra M. Anderson
1982-83 Gene Franks
1983-84 Eric H. Wayand
1984-85 Eric H. Wayand
1985-86 Mark Ginter
1986-87 James Harmon
1987-88 Rob Branch
1988-89 David Lush
1989-90 David Lush
1990-91 Anthony Townsend
1991-92 Anthony Townsend
1992-93 Kenneth Kahn
1993-94 Timothy Schell
1994-95 Maureen Bezold (title changed to president)
1995-96 Bryan Rowland
1996-97 Delia Grenville
1997-98 Chris Bunin
1998-99 Paul F. Wagner
1999-2000 Jeffrey Sutton
2000-01 Dave Fowler
2001-02 Marquea D. King
2002-03 Jan van Aardt
2003-04 Pankaj Gupta
2004-05 Myrna Callison and Yvette Pena
2005-06 Stephen J. Kalista Jr.
2006-07 Jory Ruscio
2007-08 Joe McFadden
2008-09 Joe McFadden
2009-10 Laura J. Freeman
2010-11 Michelle McLeese
2011-12 Shree Narayanan Sreedharan Nair
2012-13 Shaimaa Abdallah
2013-14 Amanda Hyman
2014-15 Greg Purdy
2015-16 Matt Chan
2016-17 Chelsea Corkins
2017-18 Alexandra Hyler
Graduate Student Awards
Graduate Teaching Assistant Excellence, Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) Instructor of Record Excellence, and Graduate Service Excellence Awards—The Graduate Student Relations Committee of the Commission on Graduate Studies selects students for recognition for contributions in teaching and in service. The GTA Instructor of Record award goes to the primary instructor of course or course section where the GTA typically has more control of the content and delivery of the material and assigns grades for students. The GTA Assistant Award goes to a GTA who provides support to the faculty instructor of record, whose duties may include: grading, occasional lecturing, student office hours and similar tasks. The awards were first presented at Founders Day on April 24, 1987.
Award
Graduate Teaching Assistant Excellence Award
1987 Josephine W. Reed
1988 Patricia A. Nickinson
1989 Susan G. Mayhew
1990 John A. Lewis
1991 Mark D. Smith
1992 Daniel R. Ess
1993 Christine J. Hughes
1994 Cathy L.Cripps
1995 Rebecca G. Taylor
1996 Joyce Smaragdis
1997 Lesa L. Beverly
1998 David W. Mullins
1999 Jon C. Cawley
2000 Wairimu Njambi
2001 Mary Catherine Aime
2002 Gregory N. Hartman
2003 Rebecca A. Belling Abler
2004 Eric Vugrin/Donna Augustine
2005 Christy D. Wolfe
2006 Denise R. Adkins
2007 Philip K. Lehman
2008 Patricia Boyles
2009 Linsey Barker and Sunny Crawley (tie)
2010
2011
2012 Stephanie Voshell
2013 Kevin J. Buffardi
2014 Marwa K. Abdel Latif
2015 Jason Smith
2016 Brandon Bear
2017 Ricky Mullins
2018 &nssp;Brady A. Ziegler
Graduate Student Service Excellence Award
1987 Nancy Shands
1988 Robert H. Ford
1989 Dana B. Browne
1990 Cynthia Z. Massie/Kathleen J. Sikkema
1991 David Nixon Judge
1992 Laura E. Via
1993 Shannon L. Namboodri
1994 Marc J. Dysart
1995 Michael J. Latham
1996 Ronald E. Sheffield
1997 Alicia L. Hogbin
1998 Gregory W. Shawver
1999 Travis O. Brenden
2000 Roderic Brame
2001 Chung-Yen Oliver Chen
2002 Marquea D. King
2003 Tracy A. Bodo Slotta
2004 Christian Rieser
2005 Lori A. Blanc
2006 Benjamin Poquette
2007 Estella Callie Raulfs
2008 Christopher Strock
2009 Christina Newman
2010
2011
2012 William Collins
2013 Dr. Zenithson Ng
2014
2015 Anna M. Brown
2016 Siddhartha Roy
2017 Yousef Jalali
2018 Ellen B. Garci
Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) Instructor of Record Excellence Award
2015 Jonathan Waldron
2016 Jordan Laney and Dana Riger
2017 Joseph "Tanner" Slagel
2018 Mary R. Nedel
Graduate Woman and Graduate Man of the Year Awards—Established by the Graduate Student Assembly in 2004 and first awarded in 2005, a Graduate Woman of the Year and a Graduate Man of the Year are selected from the graduate student body based on involvement in professional organizations, campus activities, and the graduate community; contributions to new knowledge; contributions to the graduate community; and commitment to diversity. Winners receive a plaque and $500. The award was changed to Graduate Student of the Year in 2015. The selections include the following, with female winners listed first for each year:
2005 Manisa Pipattanasomporn and Terrell Strayhorn
2006 Nicole James and Shivakumara Siddaramappa
2007 Sharnnia Artis and Olin Thompson Mefford
2008 LaChelle Waller and Osama Marzouk
2009 Laura J. Freeman and Tremayne Waller
2010 Michelle McLeese and Mehdi Nikkhah
2011 Ganesh Balasubramanian
2012 Katelin Shugart-Schmidt and Alireza Salmanzadeh
2013 Shernita Lee and Ryan C. Smith
2014
2015 Sheldon Masters
2016 Richard Rodrigues and Mary Tackett
2017 Siddhartha Roy
2018 Alexandra Hyler
Outstanding College Graduate Students—The Graduate School initiated the Outstanding College Student Awards in 2001. In 2007 a change was made to recognize an outstanding master’s student and an outstanding doctoral student in each college. Following are the Outstanding College Student Award winners:
| Year | Recipient | College |
| 2001 | Alexander A. T. Johnson | Agriculture & Life Sciences |
| David C. A. Keuhl | Architecture & Urban Studies | |
| Charles Bott | Engineering | |
| Katherine Carroll | Liberal Arts & Human Sciences | |
| Darroch Whitaker | Natural Resources | |
| David C. Novak | Pamplin Business | |
| Kelli J. England | Science | |
| Christiane Massicotte | Veterinary Medicine | |
| 2002 | Cary Williams | Agriculture & Life Sciences |
| William A. Bailey | Agriculture & Life Sciences | |
| Jason Anderson | Architecture & Urban Studies | |
| Theresa Wynn | Engineering | |
| Jeannemarie Beiseigel | Liberal Arts & Human Sciences | |
| Sybille Klenzendorf | Natural Resources | |
| Senay Agca | Pamplin Business | |
| Christopher Dula | Science | |
| Mary Renee Prater | Veterinary Medicine | |
| 2003 | James Biedler | Agriculture & Life Sciences |
| Yousef Nawas | Architecture & Urban Studies | |
| Patrick Francis Mish | Engineering | |
| Sandra Dika | Liberal Arts & Human Sciences | |
| Christopher M. Gough | Natural Resources | |
| Arlise P. McKinney | Pamplin Business | |
| Heather L. Littleton | Science | |
| Martin Fenaux | Veterinary Medicine | |
| 2004 | Patricia Dos Santos | Agriculture & Life Sciences |
| Raquel Becerra | Architecture & Urban Studies | |
| Eric John Ruggiero | Engineering | |
| Jennifer Matheson | Liberal Arts & Human Sciences | |
| Kerri Cahill | Natural Resources | |
| Andrew O. Coggins Jr. | Pamplin Business | |
| Jane Lehr | Science | |
| Brett Wood | Veterinary Medicine | |
| 2005 | Amy Xiaopei Hu | Agriculture & Life Sciences |
| Ana Christina Abad | Architecture & Urban Studies | |
| Bryan Love | Engineering | |
| Benjamin Cohen | Liberal Arts & Human Sciences | |
| David Bishop | Natural Resources | |
| Melih (Mel) Madanoglu | Pamplin Business | |
| Sara Chiara Haden | Science | |
| Melinda Pomeroy Black | Veterinary Medicine | |
| 2006 | Graham Jack | Agriculture & Life Sciences |
| Rachel A. Christensen | Architecture & Urban Studies | |
| Navin Manjooran | Engineering | |
| Robert A. Siudzinski | Liberal Arts & Human Sciences | |
| Nathaniel Hitt | Natural Resources | |
| Fang Meng | Pamplin Business | |
| Douglas Wiegand | Science | |
| Shivakumara Siddaramappa | Veterinary Medicine | |
| 2007 | Brad M. Matanin – master’s | Agriculture & Life Sciences |
| Monique R. Coy - doctoral | Agriculture & Life Sciences | |
| Jonathan L. King - master’s | Architecture & Urban Studies | |
| Hooman Koliji - doctoral | Architecture & Urban Studies | |
| Brad M. Matanin - master’s | Engineering | |
| Pardha Pyla - doctoral | Engineering | |
| Jonathan D. McCloud - doctoral | Liberal Arts & Human Sciences | |
| Brett C. Kiser - master’s | Natural Resources | |
| Sarah E. DuRant - doctoral | Natural Resources | |
| Paula C. Peter - doctoral | Pamplin Business | |
| Austin J. Amaya - master’s | Science | |
| Lori A. Blanc - doctoral | Science | |
| Kara A. Kolster – master’s | Veterinary Medicine | |
| Shaadi F. Elswaifi - doctoral | Veterinary Medicine | |
| 2008 | Denise Gardner – master’s | Agriculture & Life Sciences |
| Dominic Tucker – doctoral | Agriculture & Life Sciences | |
| Mandana Parvinian – master’s | Architecture & Urban Studies | |
| Beth Offenbacker – doctoral | Architecture & Urban Studies | |
| Ganesh Narayanaswamy – master’s | Engineering | |
| Ben Poquette – doctoral | Engineering | |
| Konstantinos Krarmpis – doctoral | Interdisciplinary | |
| Melissa W. Lisanti – doctoral | Liberal Arts & Human Sciences | |
| Erin Amanda Moore – master’s | Natural Resources | |
| Daniel Herbert Catlin – doctoral | Natural Resources | |
| Vikas Vohra – master’s | Pamplin Business | |
| Rebecca Lau – doctoral | Pamplin Business | |
| Kathryn Harry – master’s | Science | |
| Bing Shen – doctoral | Science | |
| Rachel Tan – maser’s | Veterinary Medicine | |
| Ben Lepene – doctoral | Veterinary Medicine | |
| 2009 | Preston H. Brown – master’s | Agriculture & Life Sciences |
| Joseph W. Fadden – doctoral | Agriculture & Life Sciences | |
| Emily M. Howard – master’s | Architecture & Urban Studies | |
| Yong Han Ahn – doctoral | Architecture & Urban Studies | |
| Jacob Grohs – master’s | Engineering | |
| Mehdi Nikkhah – doctoral | Engineering | |
| Lindsey Newman – master’s | Liberal Arts & Human Sciences | |
| Hyuksoo Kwon – doctoral | Liberal Arts & Human Sciences | |
| Amy L. Carrozzino – master’s | Natural Resources and Environment | |
| Fernando Navarro – doctoral | Natural Resources and Environment | |
| Matthew D. Harry – master’s | Pamplin Business | |
| Bige Saatcioglu – doctoral | Pamplin Business | |
| Theresa A. Detrie – master’s | Science | |
| Michael J. Kavic – doctoral | Science | |
| Heather Graham – master’s | Veterinary Medicine | |
| Christopher Ober – doctoral | Veterinary Medicine | |
| 2010 | – master’s | Agriculture & Life Sciences |
| – doctoral | Agriculture & Life Sciences | |
| – master’s | Architecture & Urban Studies | |
| – doctoral | Architecture & Urban Studies | |
| – master’s | Engineering | |
| – doctoral | Engineering | |
| – master’s | Liberal Arts & Human Sciences | |
| – doctoral | Liberal Arts & Human Sciences | |
| – master’s | Natural Resources and Environment | |
| – doctoral | Natural Resources and Environment | |
| – master’s | Pamplin Business | |
| – doctoral | Pamplin Business | |
| – master’s | Science | |
| – doctoral | Science | |
| – master’s | Veterinary Medicine | |
| – doctoral | Veterinary Medicine | |
| 2011 | – master’s | Agriculture & Life Sciences |
| – doctoral | Agriculture & Life Sciences | |
| – master’s | Architecture & Urban Studies | |
| – doctoral | Architecture & Urban Studies | |
| – master’s | Engineering | |
| – doctoral | Engineering | |
| – master’s | Liberal Arts & Human Sciences | |
| – doctoral | Liberal Arts & Human Sciences | |
| – master’s | Natural Resources and Environment | |
| – doctoral | Natural Resources and Environment | |
| – master’s | Pamplin Business | |
| – doctoral | Pamplin Business | |
| – master’s | Science | |
| – doctoral | Science | |
| – master’s | Veterinary Medicine | |
| – doctoral | Veterinary Medicine | |
| 2012 | – master’s | Agriculture & Life Sciences |
| – doctoral | Agriculture & Life Sciences | |
| – master’s | Architecture & Urban Studies | |
| – doctoral | Architecture & Urban Studies | |
| – master’s | Engineering | |
| – doctoral | Engineering | |
| Laura Elizabeth West – master’s |
Liberal Arts & Human Sciences | |
| Jennifer Sink McCloud – doctoral |
Liberal Arts & Human Sciences | |
| – master’s | Natural Resources and Environment | |
| – doctoral | Natural Resources and Environment | |
| – master’s | Pamplin Business | |
| – doctoral | Pamplin Business | |
| – master’s | Science | |
| – doctoral | Science | |
| – master’s | Veterinary Medicine | |
| – doctoral | Veterinary Medicine | |
| 2013 | Michael Fedkenheuer – master’s | Agriculture & Life Sciences |
| Ligia Marques Cota Vieira – doctoral | Agriculture & Life Sciences | |
| Ashley Drake – master’s | Architecture & Urban Studies | |
| Ana Jaramillo – doctoral | Architecture & Urban Studies | |
| Amanda Sain – master’s | Engineering | |
| Christopher Arena – doctoral | Engineering | |
| Stephanie N. Lewis – doctoral | Interdisciplinary | |
| Jon Gatherwood-Ginn – master’s | Liberal Arts & Human Sciences | |
| Christian Matheis – doctoral | Liberal Arts & Human Sciences | |
| Shannon L. White – master’s | Natural Resources and Environment | |
| Claudia Wultsch – doctoral | Natural Resources and Environment | |
| David C. Steger – master’s | Pamplin Business | |
| Derick F. Davis – doctoral | Pamplin Business | |
| Jennifer Wyderko – master’s | Science | |
| Matthew Steele-Macinnis – doctoral | Science | |
| Noah Pavlikso – master’s | Veterinary Medicine | |
| Shobana Raghunath – doctoral | Veterinary Medicine | |
| 2014 | – master’s | Agriculture & Life Sciences |
| – doctoral | Agriculture & Life Sciences | |
| – master’s | Architecture & Urban Studies | |
| – doctoral | Architecture & Urban Studies | |
| – master’s | Engineering | |
| – doctoral | Engineering | |
| – master’s | Liberal Arts & Human Sciences | |
| – doctoral | Liberal Arts & Human Sciences | |
| – master’s | Natural Resources and Environment | |
| – doctoral | Natural Resources and Environment | |
| – master’s | Pamplin Business | |
| – doctoral | Pamplin Business | |
| – master’s | Science | |
| – doctoral | Science | |
| – master’s | Veterinary Medicine | |
| – doctoral | Veterinary Medicine | |
| 2015 | Sarah McCoski – master’s | Agriculture & Life Sciences |
| Sarah Phoebe Williams – doctoral | Agriculture & Life Sciences | |
| Christopher Taylor – master’s | Architecture & Urban Studies | |
| Kenneth Sands II – doctoral | Architecture & Urban Studies | |
| – master’s | Engineering | |
| Balaji Subramaniam – doctoral | Engineering | |
| Sophia Orbach – doctoral | Interdisciplinary | |
| Thomas Seabrook – master’s | Liberal Arts & Human Sciences | |
| Jennifer Henderson – doctoral | Liberal Arts & Human Sciences | |
| Ashley Athey – master’s | Natural Resources and Environment | |
| Wei Zhang – doctoral | Natural Resources and Environment | |
| John-Paul Gravelines – master’s | Pamplin Business | |
| Hye Lin Kim – doctoral | Pamplin Business | |
| Alexandra Gerling – master’s | Science | |
| Kyle Ashley – doctoral | Science | |
| Sarah Holland – master’s | Veterinary Medicine | |
| Thomas Brickler – doctoral | Veterinary Medicine | |
| 2016 | Carly Macdougall – master’s | Agriculture & Life Sciences |
| Tanya Halliday – doctoral | Agriculture & Life Sciences | |
| Michael Young – master’s | Architecture & Urban Studies | |
| Oluwateniola “Teni” Ladipo – doctoral | Architecture & Urban Studies | |
| Meredith Scaggs – master’s | Engineering | |
| Tim Yue Wu – doctoral | Engineering | |
| Andrew Brantley Hall – doctoral | Interdisciplinary | |
| Faith Skiles – master’s | Liberal Arts & Human Sciences | |
| Sascha Engel – doctoral | Liberal Arts & Human Sciences | |
| Brian Parkhurst – master’s | Natural Resources and Environment | |
| Lindsey Rich – doctoral | Natural Resources and Environment | |
| Garrett Scott DeWitt – master’s | Pamplin Business | |
| Rebecca Rabino – doctoral | Pamplin Business | |
| Christopher Griffin – master’s | Science | |
| Jonathan Waldron – doctoral | Science | |
| Nicholas Parkinson – master’s | Veterinary Medicine | |
| Lauren Sheehan – doctoral | Veterinary Medicine | |
| 2017 | Alicia Everette – master’s | Agriculture & Life Sciences |
| Adam Geiger – doctoral | Agriculture & Life Sciences | |
| Meliha Aljabar – master’s | Architecture & Urban Studies | |
| Eric Wetzel – doctoral | Architecture & Urban Studies | |
| Eamon Campolettano – master’s | Engineering | |
| William Rhoads – doctoral | Engineering | |
| Laura Schoenle – doctoral | Interdisciplinary | |
| Daniel Newcomb – master’s | Liberal Arts & Human Sciences | |
| Shekila Melchior – doctoral | Liberal Arts & Human Sciences | |
| Kayla Davis – master’s | Natural Resources and Environment | |
| Anne Hilborn – doctoral | Natural Resources and Environment | |
| Nicholas Brown – master’s | Pamplin Business | |
| Richard Gruss – doctoral | Pamplin Business | |
| – master’s | Science | |
| Jonathan Doubek – doctoral | Science | |
| Noelle Muro – master’s | Veterinary Medicine | |
| Shaohua Lei – doctoral | Veterinary Medicine | |
| 2018 | Arogeanae Brown – master’s | Agriculture & Life Sciences |
| Nasrin Alamdari – doctoral | Agriculture & Life Sciences | |
| Christoph Opitz – master’s | Architecture & Urban Studies | |
| Muna Al Dhabbah – doctoral | Architecture & Urban Studies | |
| Andrew Chung Chee Law – master’s | Engineering | |
| Emily D. Garner – doctoral | Engineering | |
| Gustavo A Arango Argoty – doctoral | Interdisciplinary | |
| Emily Harmon – master’s | Liberal Arts & Human Sciences | |
| Mary K. Ryan – doctoral | Liberal Arts & Human Sciences | |
| Chelsea Weithman – master’s | Natural Resources and Environment | |
| Erin Poor – doctoral | Natural Resources and Environment | |
| Farida A. Mohamed – master’s | Pamplin Business | |
| Daniel Villanova – doctoral | Pamplin Business | |
| Spencer Bell – master’s | Science | |
| Qing Tang – doctoral | Science | |
| Lydia Carpenter – master’s | Veterinary Medicine | |
| Sheryl Coutermarsh-Ott – doctoral | Veterinary Medicine |
Outstanding Dissertation Award—In 2001 the Graduate School initiated the Outstanding Dissertation Award to recognize the most outstanding dissertation or dissertations completed during the academic year. Later, the award was divided into two categories: outstanding dissertation in mathematics, sciences, or engineering and outstanding dissertation in humanities, business, or social sciences. A dissertation committee reviews nominations and recommends winners to the Graduate School. Award winners receive an honorarium of $1,000 and a certificate of outstanding merit. Winners:
2001 Jean M. Whichard and Barry R. Bickmore
2002 Ralph Sandfry
2003 Stephen C. Poulson and Warren K. Vaneman
2004 Maria Rentetzi and Derrell McPherson
2005 Dwight V. Toavs and Martijn Fenaux
2006 Feihe Huang and Ronald Miller
2007 Mohamed N. Seleem and Benjamin Sovacool
2008 Thomas Rondeau and Brent Jesiek
2009 Matthew Dyer and Jonson Miller
2010 Mehdi Nikkhah
2011
2012 Robert Neal and Catherine Larochelle
2013 Laura Gambrel and Justin Lemkul
2014
2015 Hamzeh M. Al Qublan and Cynthia Ann Lintz
2016 Caitlin M. Cossaboom and Amy Paige Kaminski
2017 Andrew Brantley Hall and Francine Rossone de Paula
2018 Skylar Hopkins and Marc R. Fialkoff
William Preston Society – Conference of Southern Graduate Schools Thesis Awards—In 1999 the Graduate School began recognizing a graduate student whose master’s thesis presents the best original research with the potential to benefit all people. Two categories of award disciplines were initially recognized, with the disciplines alternating from year to year: humanities and fine arts and mathematics, physical sciences, and engineering one year and the life sciences and social sciences, business, and education. The winning theses become the university’s nominations for the Conference of Southern Graduate Schools thesis awards. In 2009 a third thesis was submitted to CSGS in an Innovation Applications category. Winners:
1999 Thomas L. Gradishar
2000 Theresa O. Pettinger
2001 Michael A. Gore
2002 Eric J. Ruggiero
2003 Feihe Huang and Sarah Smidl
2004 Joseph Pierro and Jonathan W. Roller
2005 Brianne L. Winston and Jess W. Jones
2006 Amanda Young and Evan S. Noble
2007 Nathaniel C. Burke and Brett C. Kiser
2008 Robert Paul Murray and Nicole R. West
2009 Karen Drahos, Ge Zhang, and William “Rob” Story
2010 Matthew Schuler and Ashley Weaver
2011 Ryan C. Smith and Alperen Ketene
2012
2013
2014
2015 Winston Becker and Raven Weaver
2016 Alexandra Gerling and Thomas R. Seabrook
2017 Kathleen Hamre and Carmen Bolt
2018 Rachel E. Kohler, Elizabeth A. Dellinger, and Rebecca Jean Williams