WWU announces 2026 Celebration of Excellence Award recipients
The following faculty and staff awards will be presented at the Celebration of Excellence Awards Ceremony on Thursday, May 28, 2026 at 8:30 a.m. and employees are encouraged to attend in-person in the Performing Arts Center Concert Hall. There will be an informal reception after the ceremony in the PAC Lobby.
For those who can’t attend in-person, a video of the ceremony will be available a few days after the event on the Celebration of Excellence webpage. Thank you to everyone who took the time to nominate a colleague!
We hope you will attend in support of colleagues receiving the following recognition:
Years of Service Recognition
Employees celebrating a milestone anniversary between June 2025-May 2026.
Arlan Norman Award for Excellence in Student Mentoring
Jeanine Amacher, Chemistry (Undergraduate Mentor)
David Hooper, Biology (Graduate Mentor)
Dean Kitto Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Award
Margaret Lobo-Urias, English
Outstanding Classified Staff Awards
Sue Hutchings, Health & Human Development
Jessie Tanksley, Political Science
Outstanding Faculty Leadership Award
Matt Roelofs, Economics
Professional Staff Awards for Excellence
AJ Barse, Center for Instructional Innovation
Carolyn Mulder, Child Development Center
Jenny Spurgin, Washington Campus Coalition for the Public Good
Outstanding Scholarship Award
Christina Gutierrez-Dennehy, Theatre & Dance
Paul J. Olscamp Research Award
Dan Howard-Snyder, Philosophy
Philip E. Sharpe, Jr. Community Engagement Award
Kate Stevenson, Honors College
Ronald Kleinknecht Excellence in Teaching Award
Madoka Kusakabe, Languages, Literatures, and Cultures
Peter J. Elich Excellence in Teaching Award
Betsy O’Donovan, Journalism
Excellence in Teaching Award
Sarah Jo Monaghan, Theatre & Dance
WWU Alumni Outstanding Faculty Legacy Award
Christopher Friday, History (Retired)
President’s Exceptional Effort Awards
Sura Alqudah, Engineering and Design Department
Nicole Ebersole, University Advancement
John Fauver, Environmental Health & Safety
Rodrigo Gonzalez-Juarez, Multicultural Student Services
Daniel Miller, Facilities Development & Operations
Brian Ross, Facilities Development & Operations
Glen Tobosa, Woodring College of Education
Team Recognition Award
Student Health Insurance Billing Team
Recent Retiree Recognition
Recognizing those who retired from WWU between June 2025-June 2026