UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Faculty and staff in the Penn State College of Information Sciences and Technology were recognized at the college’s annual awards event this week. Recipients were nominated by their IST colleagues and selected by a review committee for their excellence in teaching, research and service.  

“The College of IST is fortunate to have an abundance of dedicated, innovative, collaborative and influential faculty and staff,” said Andrew Sears, dean. “It is incredibly rewarding to recognize a few of these deserving individuals who are going above and beyond to positively shape our college, Penn State and the community. We are honored to celebrate the impact of their work and appreciate their commitment to serving all in the IST community.” 

Those recognized include: 

Junior Faculty Excellence in Research Award 

• Hadi Hosseini, assistant professor

Senior Faculty Excellence in Research Award

• Dinghao Wu, professor and interim professor-in-charge of privacy and security 

George J. McMurtry Junior Faculty Excellence in Teaching and Learning Award

• Priya Kumar, assistant professor 

George J. McMurtry Senior Faculty Excellence in Teaching and Learning Award

• Bill Parquette, professor of practice 

Rising Star Award

• Elizabeth Stouffer, administrative support assistant, Office of the Dean 

Customer Service Award 

• Rita Griffith, assistant director of professional development, Office of Career Solutions and Corporate Engagement
• Kathy Wiest, dean’s office supervisor, Office of the Dean 

Team Award

• Office Of Graduate Programs – Chrissie Fitzgerald, program manager; Jenna Hart, administrative support assistant; and Carly Marshall, administrative support assistant 

Dean’s Circle of Excellence Award

• Chris Milito, director, Office of Information Technology 

Community Award

• Grace Hakizimana, administrative support assistant, Academic Services Operations 

Public Service and Outreach Award

• Frank Ritter, professor 

Susan B. Lucas Diversity and Equity Award

• Kim Woodward, alumni relations and stewardship officer, Office of Development and Alumni Relations 

The Dean’s Honor Award

• Madhavi Kari, assistant director, Office of Inclusion and Diversity Engagement
• Kristy Romaine, assistant director, Office of Undergraduate Academic Advising
• Peggy Stanton, events coordinator, Office of College Events
• Andrea Tapia, professor and associate dean for research 

The following individuals were also recognized for their years of service to the college: 

25 years of service to Penn State 

• Peggy Stanton, events coordinator, Office of College Events 

20 years of service to the college 

• Fred Fonseca, associate professor and professor-in-charge of social and organizational informatics 
• Amy Garbrick, director, Office of Learning Design 
• Dongwon Lee, professor and director of doctoral programs 
• Peng Liu, Raymond G. Tronzo, MD Professor of Cybersecurity 
• Carleen Maitland, professor 
• Lynette Yarger, professor and associate dean for equity and inclusion in the Schreyer Honors College 
• John Yen, professor and professor-in-charge of data sciences

15 years of service to the college 

• Jacob Graham, professor of practice 
• Amy Grove, systems administrator, Office of Information Technology 
• Shannon Johnson, systems administrator, Office of Information Technology 
• Kathy Wiest, dean’s office supervisor, Office of the Dean 

10 Years of service to the college 

• Marc Friedenberg, assistant teaching professor and coordinator of the bachelor’s degree program in information sciences and technology  
• Rita Griffith, assistant director of professional development, Office of Career Solutions and Corporate Engagement 
• Kent Matsueda, assistant director, Office of Learning Design

Five years of service to the college 

• Saeed Abdullah, assistant professor 
• Jordan Ford, director, Office of Marketing and Communications 
• David Hozza, lecturer 
• Alison Laninger, educational program specialist, Academic Services Operations 
• Susan Lauver, curriculum specialist, Academic Services Operations 
• Sharon Lazarow, undergraduate academic services coordinator, Academic Services Operations 
• Brianne Lippert, assistant director, Office of Career Solutions and Corporate Engagement 
• Trisha McKee, instructional production specialist, Office of Learning Design 
• Angela Miller, director of undergraduate recruiting, Office of Inclusion and Diversity Engagement 
• Linhai Song, assistant professor  
• Sarah Stager, assistant teaching professor