Contact:
Bob Spieldenner
bobspiedenner@schev.edu
(804) 225-2628

December 21, 2023

For immediate release

RICHMOND -- The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) and Dominion Energy are pleased to announce the recipients of the 2024 Outstanding Faculty Awards, each of whom will receive a $7,500 gift from the Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation at an in-person ceremony on March 5, 2024, in Richmond.

Since 1987, these awards have recognized faculty at Virginia’s institutions of higher learning who exemplify the highest standards of teaching, scholarship and service.

Institutions select the nominees, then a panel of peers reviews the applications. A committee of leaders from the public and private sectors selects the final recipients. This year, the program received 87 nominations. This group narrowed to a field of 25 finalists and then to the 11 recipients.

The 2024 recipients are listed below in alphabetical order. Asterisks indicate Rising Star (early-career achievement) awards.

2024 Outstanding Faculty Awards Recipients:

Tarek Abdel-Fattah (Christopher Newport University)
Tarek Abdel-Fattah is the Lawrence J. Sacks Endowed Professor of Chemistry at Christopher Newport University (CNU) and the CNU director of the Applied Research Center at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. Dr. Abdel-Fattah’s work concerning nanotechnology for aerospace applications has been recognized by NASA, and he twice received NASA faculty fellowships. He was the first recipient of CNU’s Annual Faculty Award for Excellence in Scholarship in 2012 and the College of Natural & Behavioral Sciences Award for Excellence in Teaching and Mentoring in 2019. In addition, he received the Outstanding Mentorship Award from the Chemistry Division of the Council on Undergraduate Research in 2021. Dr. Abdel-Fattah holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in chemistry from Alexandria University, Egypt and a Ph.D. in inorganic and materials chemistry from Northeastern University in Boston.

Kathleen Alexander (Virginia Tech)
Kathleen Alexander is a professor of wildlife conservation in the College of Natural Resources and Environment at Virginia Tech. Dr. Alexander has conducted research in West, East and Southern Africa for more than 30 years. Her research takes a systems biology approach to ecosystem health, integrating human and animal health with ecosystem dynamics. Dr. Alexander worked for the government of Botswana as both the chief of the Wildlife Veterinary Unit in the Department of Wildlife and National Parks and the ecological advisor to the Office of the President of Botswana. She manages a long-term study site in Botswana examining the dynamics of emerging infectious disease. Dr. Alexander is a member of the World Conservation Union's Wildlife Health Specialist Group as well as the Commission for Ecosystem Management. Dr. Alexander received both her Ph.D. and veterinary degree from University of California, Davis.

T. Daniel Crawford (Virginia Tech)
T. Daniel Crawford is a University Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at Virginia Tech and director of the Molecular Sciences Software Institute in Blacksburg. Dr. Crawford's research focuses on the development of quantum mechanical models of molecular properties. He has published 150 peer-reviewed papers and given nearly 230 lectures in 26 countries. Dr. Crawford is a member of the International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science. His awards include a Cottrell Scholar and Cottrell STAR awards from the Research Corporation for Science Advancement, a National Science Foundation CAREER Award, the Dirac Medal of the World Association of Theoretical and Computational Chemists and Fellowship in the American Chemical Society. Dr. Crawford has a bachelor's degree in chemistry and mathematics from Duke University and a Ph.D. from the University of Georgia.

John Finn (Christopher Newport University)
John Finn is an associate professor of geography and chair of the Department of Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology at Christopher Newport University. His research examines racial capitalism, critical landscape studies and environmental justice to better understand the ongoing economic, environmental and health impacts of persistent racial segregation in the United States. For the last four years he has directed a project entitled, “Living Apart: Geography of Segregation in the 21st Century,” which uses oral history interviews, experimental photographic methodologies, historical and archival research and interactive mapping to trace the history of how overtly discriminatory federal housing policy created structures of racialized inequality in housing that continues to produce and perpetuate profoundly unequal urban and environmental outcomes. Dr. Finn holds a Ph.D. in geography from Arizona State University.

Justin Haegele (Old Dominion University)
Justin A. Haegele is a professor and the director of the Center for Movement, Health and Disability in the Department of Human Movement Sciences at Old Dominion University. Dr. Haegele’s primary research explores how disabled individuals experience physical activity participation, including within school-based physical education contexts. He has written more than 225 peer-reviewed research publications, as well as several edited or authored texts. Dr. Haegele currently serves as the director of Project CAPER and co-director of the Multi-Institution Mentorship Consortium, two adapted physical activity training collaboratives focused on training doctoral scholars in the field. He is president of the North American Federation of Adapted Physical Activity, and the editor-in-chief for the peer-reviewed publications “Quest” and “Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly.” Dr. Haegele has a B.S. and M.S.Ed. in physical education from SUNY Brockport and a Ph.D. in adapted physical education from Ohio State University.

Carrie Humphrey (J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College)
Carrie Humphrey is a full-time instructor at J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College pursuing her doctorate in translation and interpreting studies with a focus on American Sign Language-English interpretation at Gallaudet University. She has been a nationally certified freelance interpreter for 18 years. Ms. Humphrey is president of the Virginia Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf and has served on their board in a variety of roles since 2009. Several teachers and mentors have served as role models and were pivotal in her life, inspiring her to be an educator for future generations of interpreters so that interpreting graduates can best serve their clients and communities. Ms. Humphrey has served as program head, curriculum committee chair and interim assistant dean at the college.

Timothy Jarome (Virginia Tech) *
Timothy Jarome is an associate professor in the School of Animal Sciences and core faculty in the School of Neuroscience at Virginia Tech. His research interests include understanding the neurobiological mechanisms controlling the formation of fear-based memories that underlie post-traumatic stress disorder, with an emphasis on sex differences in these processes. His research also includes understanding the molecular mechanisms of age-related memory loss and developing novel approaches to understand and treat Alzheimer’s disease. Prior to joining Virginia Tech, Dr. Jarome received his bachelor’s in psychology from Kent State University, his master’s and doctoral degrees in neuroscience from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and completed his postdoctoral training in neurogenetics at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine.

Evan Lowder (George Mason University) *
Evan Marie Lowder is an assistant professor in the Department of Criminology, Law and Society at George Mason University and directs the Early Justice Strategies Lab. Dr. Lowder’s research examines strategies to reduce justice system contact and improve behavioral health outcomes among justice-involved adults. Her work advances strategies to promote individuals’ risk management and connection to services in the community. As an applied researcher, Dr. Lowder frequently collaborates with professionals in state government, local community organizations, jails, pretrial services agencies, courts and community corrections. She received her Ph.D. in applied social and community psychology from North Carolina State University.

Elizabeth Outka (University of Richmond)
Elizabeth Outka is the Tucker-Boatwright Professor of Humanities and Professor of English at the University of Richmond. A University Distinguished Educator and a University Distinguished Scholar, she is an internationally recognized writer and speaker on twentieth-century literature. Her first book, “Consuming Traditions” inaugurated Oxford’s Modernist Literature and Cultures series. Her latest monograph, “Viral Modernism: The Influenza Pandemic and Interwar Literature,” won the Transatlantic Studies Association-Cambridge University Press Book Prize, the South Atlantic MLA Book Award and was short-listed for the Modernist Studies Association Book Prize. An award-winning teacher, she is the recipient of numerous grants, including a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Her essays have appeared in “Modernism/modernity,” “NOVEL,” “Contemporary Literature,” “The Paris Review Daily,” “The Washington Post” and many edited collections. She received her B.A. from Yale University and her M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Virginia.

Megan Taliaferro (Tidewater Community College)
Megan Taliaferro is the program director of Tidewater Community College's Veterinary Science department. After practicing for 13 years in general practice and emergency medicine, Dr. Taliaferro began the Veterinary Assistant and Veterinary Technology programs at TCC. She was responsible for the creation, implementation and national accreditation of both programs. The veterinary technology program is the first newly accredited veterinary program in Virginia in over 40 years. Dr. Taliaferro received her DVM from the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine.

Melissa Wells (University of Mary Washington)
Melissa Wells is an associate professor in the College of Education at the University of Mary Washington (UMW). Dr. Wells’ teaching and research interests include literacy, critical theory, arts integration, technology and family engagement. She has co-authored two books focused on equity in education: “Foundations of American Education: A Critical Lens,” and “Re-envisioning Family Engagement and Literacy in Early Childhood Classrooms: ‘Porque así ya conocemos’”. Dr. Wells served as a Faculty Fellow in the UMW Center for Teaching from 2019-2022. Prior to becoming a professor, Dr. Wells taught in public schools in South Carolina for eight years. She earned her Ph.D. in language and literacy from the University of South Carolina. 

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About the State Council for Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV)
The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia is the state’s coordinating agency for higher education. With Pathways to Opportunity, the statewide strategic plan, SCHEV is dedicated to making Virginia the best state for education by 2030. For more information, visit www.schev.edu.

About the Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation
About 7 million customers in 15 states energize their homes and businesses with electricity or natural gas from Dominion Energy (NYSE: D). Through its Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation, as well as EnergyShare and other programs, Dominion Energy contributed $45 million in 2022 to community causes. The Foundation supports nonprofit causes that meet basic human needs, protect the environment, promote education, and encourage community vitality. Please visit www.DominionEnergy.com to learn more.