Congratulations to our faculty, staff, and students on their leadership, productivity, and impact.
Tuesday, September 30, 2025

National Awards

Susan Assouline 
Former director of the Belin-Blank Center and Professor Emerita   

  • National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) 
    2024 NAGC Ann F. Issacs Founder’s Memorial Award 

Belin-Blank Center director emerita receives prestigious award

Allison Levine 
Rehabilitation Counseling Assistant Professor 

  • National Career Development Association (NCDA) 
    Career Convergence Recognition Award 

Pamela Wesely 
Associate Dean for Faculty and Graduate Education and Multilingual Education Professor 

  • National Association for World Language Teachers 
    New York State Association for Language Teachers (NYSAFLT) Anthony Papalia Award for Excellence in
    Teacher Education 

Wesely awarded for excellence in world language teacher education

State Awards 

Noel Estrada-Hernández  

  • Departmental Executive Officer of Counselor Education and Rehabilitation Counseling Professor 
    2024 Inductee to the Iowa Academy of Education 

Estrada-Hernández inducted into Iowa Academy of Education

Jeffrey Nordine 
Science Education Associate Professor  

  • 2024 State of Iowa Science Standards Revision and Review Team Member 

Maia Sheppard 
Social Studies Assistant Professor 

  • 2025 State of Iowa Social Studies Standards Revision and Review Team Member 

Dave Tingwald 
Licensure and Standards Coordinator, Office of Student Services 

  • 2025 Iowa Board of Regents Staff Excellence Award

Tingwald wins staff excellence award

Nicholas Colangelo 
Founder, former director of the Belin-Blank Center and College of Education Dean Emeritus  

  • 2024 Iowa Talented and Gifted Association (ITAG) Legacy Award 

Susan Assouline 
Former director of the Belin-Blank Center and Professor Emerita 

  • 2024 Iowa Talented and Gifted Association (ITAG) Legacy Award 

Laurie Croft 
Former associate director for professional development at the Belin-Blank Center and Retired clinical professor  

  • 2024 Iowa Talented and Gifted Association (ITAG) Legacy Award 

Belin-Blank Center leaders honored with Iowa Talented and Gifted Association awards

Erin Lane 
School Counseling and Counselor Education and Supervision Clinical Assistant Professor 

  • Iowa School Counselor Association (ISCA) 
    2024 School Counselor Advocate of the Year Award 

Lane named 2024 iowa School Counselor Advocate of the Year

University of Iowa Awards 

Chris Annicella 
Director of Human Resources 

  • 2025 Outstanding Strategic HR Business Partner Award recipient 

Annicella wins Outstanding HR award

Erin Barnes 
Rehabilitation Counseling Clinical Associate Professor 

  • Fellow for Faculty Development  
    Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost 

Barnes selected to serve as Fellow for Faculty Development

Betsy Justis 
Education Licensure and Standards Specialist, Office of Student Services  

  • University of Iowa Staff Council Welcoming and Respectful Environment Award 

Justis wins UI staff award

Kay Ramey 
Learning Sciences and Educational Psychology Assistant Professor 

  • Division of Student Life’s 2025 James N. Murray Faculty Award  

Ramey wins prestigious UI faculty award

Saba Rasheed Ali 
Counseling Psychology Professor and Associate Dean for Research 

  • 2025 University of Iowa Distinguished Chair 

Ali selected as UI Distinguished Chair

Kathy Schuh 
Director of  Education Studies and Human Relations and Learning Sciences and Educational Psychology Professor 

  • 2025 Hancher-Finkbine Faculty Award 

Schuh wins Hancher-Finkbine award

Chris Ogren 
Higher Education and Student Affairs Professor  

  • 2025 Graduate College Outstanding Faculty Mentor Award 

Ogren recognized with Outstanding Faculty Mentor Award

Edwin West  
Devlin Family Café Manager in the Lindquist Center 

  • UI Staff Council’s Richard E. Gibson Merit Staff Award for Innovation and Excellence in Customer Service 

West is the best! 

College Awards 

Katharine “Katie” Broton 
Higher Education and Student Affairs Associate Professor 

Allison Rowe 
Art Education Assistant Professor 

  • 2025 Collegiate Teaching Award Recipients  

Rowe, Broton receive Collegiate Teaching Award for excellence in education

Kunjal Harwani 
Services Administrator 

  • Bettina (Tina) Hass Excellence in Commitment and Dedication Award 

Kat Krtnick Wilson 
Communications and Strategic Initiatives Manager 
Scanlan Center for School Mental Health 

  • Staff Council Early Impact Award 

Harwani, Wilson honored with staff awards for excellence

Student Awards 

Ahmed Bediwy 
PhD candidate in Educational Measurement and Statistics 

  • 2025 Society of Multivariate Experimental Psychology (SMEP) Dissertation Grant recipient 

Olga Colmenero Carrillo  
Student in Elementary Education   

Josie Mbaye 
Master of Science in Teaching student in Science Education  

  • Gilman Alumni Changemaker Grant Recipients

Eddie Etsey
EdD student in Educational Policy and Leadership Studies and associate athletics director, technology & data analytics and Women’s Tennis administrator 

  • Hancher Finkbine Staff Medallion 

Amanda Randolph 
Doctoral student in Educational Leadership 

  • 2025 David L. Clark Scholar, American Education Research Association 

Doctoral student selected as a 2025 David L. Clark Scholar

Mairen Thompson 
Graduate student in World Language Education 

  • 2025 U.S. Department of State Critical Language Scholarship recipient 

Bing Gao 
Graduate student in Literacy, Culture, and Language Education  

Alison Warren 
Student in Science Education   

  • Department of Teaching and Learning Student Research Award Winners 

Colleen Kollasch 
Graduate student in Literacy, Culture, and Language Education 

Li Zhu 
Graduate student in Math Education 

  • Department of Teaching and Learning Student Research Award Runners Up 

Student Research Award Announcement

Read more from the 2024-2025 Annual Report.