College of Education and Health Professions Recognizes 2023-24 Outstanding Faculty

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Top from left: Hilary Bowling, Kit Kacirek and Michele Kilmer; middle: Thomas Kippenbrock, Wen-Juo Lo and Kevin Murach; bottom: Craig Schmitt, Brent Williams and Nicholas Greene.

The College of Education and Health Professions recently named 2023-24 outstanding faculty award winners.

The college's Faculty Council reviews applications for various awards each year, targeting essential aspects of scholarly life and work. Each of these recipients has shown remarkable dedication and contributions to the college.

This year's winners are:

Hilary Bowling, clinical assistant professor of nursing
Outstanding Mentoring and Advising Award

As the Online Bachelor of Science in Nursing (B.S.N.) program coordinator in 2021, Bowling transitioned approximately 500 students to in-program Eleanor Mann School of Nursing faculty advisers. This undertaking required setting up new processes and student tracking, as well as orienting and educating faculty. In 2022 and 2023, Bowling held weekly Zoom meetings to provide support for faculty in their role as student advisers. Bowling had a significant number of advisees in addition to her role as the coordinator for the online B.S.N. program. When the program started, Bowling was assigned 265 advisees. In fall 2022, a new pre-nursing adviser was hired to help advise the students, and Bowling had 139 advisees. In spring 2023, Bowling had 107 advisees. As the program coordinator, Bowling has met with all upcoming graduates to discuss study planning and progress for the licensure examination for nurses (NCLEX). She evaluated the reports and data from their performance in predictor exams and developed individual plans for students' success. Bowling's mentorship has had a significant impact on the college's nursing students, faculty and community.

Kit Kacirek, associate professor of adult and lifelong learning
Faculty Career Award

Kacirek has had a long and successful career at the U of A and will retire in January 2025. She has taught numerous courses in both the human resource development and adult and lifelong learning content areas. In ADLL, Kacirek was instrumental in developing most M.S.- and Ed.D.-level courses. She fully developed and taught 13 new courses in the ADLL program. During her tenure as a faculty member, she has chaired 56 dissertations in total and as many as 18 at any single time. In addition, she has served as the advisory chair for every doctoral-level student in the ADLL program since 2012 and has served as a member of countless dissertation committees. During her tenure, she has published 26 peer-reviewed journal articles, 10 book chapters and one book review. In addition, she has delivered 44 international, national, regional and state presentations. Kacirek also has a successful track record with grant funding. She secured $160,000 through two grants with the Arkansas Education Service Cooperatives and one with Heifer International. She also had two past-funded grants totaling $50,000 with the Walton Foundation. She has served as the program coordinator for the ADLL program since its development in 2012 and performed the role of organizational development consultant for various external clients as well as multiple units at the U of A. Other significant contributions in service include participating in international leadership development workshops in Tunisia, conducting an international needs assessment/strategic planning in Morocco, strategic planning with the enhanced learning center and co-developing a mentoring program for new faculty in 2003.

Michele Kilmer, assistant professor of nursing
Rising S.T.A.R. Award

Kilmer is the Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Faculty Assembly Chair, co-director of EMSON Writing Across the Curriculum, director of the Access for Autism Program, innovative researcher in animal-assisted therapy, a peer reviewer for multiple journals and a Nursing Science Day organizer and presenter. She secured over $350,000 in grants in 2023. Kilmer serves in multiple roles across the university and community, including the EMSON DNP project coordinator and as a member of the U of A Toxic Substance Committee, College of Education and Health Professions College Council, the college's Course Program Committee, EMSON Academic Affairs Committee and EMSON Graduate Curriculum Committee. Kilmer serves the profession of nursing as an active member of the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners, National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculty, Arkansas Nurse Practitioner Association, Online Learning Consortium and American Association of Colleges of Nursing. Additionally, Kilmer had four media appearances, gave 13 presentations (of which she was the first author on seven) and submitted six manuscripts in 2023. Most notable is the time and dedication she has given her clients. She enrolled over 180 children in autism spectrum disorder studies as well as 150 caregivers in related studies and completed nearly 80 diagnostic evaluations while obtaining additional certifications in the first phase of EMDR training and therapy/service dog handling.

Thomas Kippenbrock, professor of nursing
Belonging and Equity Excellence Award

Kippenbrock's pioneering research methods to attract a diverse nursing workforce are, in part, encapsulated by his leadership service role in founding the American Association for Men in Nursing. Through his mentoring and recruitment efforts, he propelled AAMN's objectives and expanded its reach, starting from three regional chapters and growing to 51 AAMN chapters nationwide, which is reflected by an increase in representations of men in nursing schools from 2.7% (1970) to 11.9% (2022). His groundbreaking research on male student college choice and faculty workplace satisfaction publications, along with other journal articles, are cited by over 1,000 authors. In service to the community, he led the Northwest Arkansas Nursing Education Consortium to write grants and raise funds to support Hispanic pre-nursing and enrolled nursing students. His educational leadership in expanding nurse practitioner education occurred through the Robert Wood Johnson Delta Health Education Partnership. As a result of his work, nurse practitioners worked with midwives and physician assistant students in the Mississippi River Delta Region to bring primary care with a team approach. Kippenbrock has had a substantive, sustained and outstanding impact on fostering belonging and equity in the field of nursing.

Wen-Juo Lo, associate professor of educational statistics and research methods
George Denny S.T.A.R. Award

Lo has made exceptional contributions to teaching, research and service in the college. He taught two advanced graduate courses in 2023 and consistently received positive feedback from students about his teaching style, ability to explain complex material and overall care for his students. Lo's research achievements in 2023 were remarkable, including co-authoring nine journal articles with three additional publications released online first and two accepted for future publication. He delivered 35 presentations at national and international conferences. Most noteworthy among his achievements is his extensive involvement in grant activities throughout 2023, assuming pivotal roles as principal investigator, co-PI and evaluator on grants from prestigious entities such as the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and private foundations. In addition to his scholarly pursuits, Lo exhibited exemplary service, fulfilling significant roles within the university and actively contributing to professional communities as a respected reviewer and esteemed editorial board member. His comprehensive achievements and dedication exemplify the spirit and high standards of the George Denny S.T.A.R. Award, underscoring his invaluable impact on both the university and his broader academic field.

Kevin Murach, assistant professor of exercise science
Impactful Scholarship Award

Murach has published 13 peer-reviewed publications in top-tier journals with impact factors ranging from 5.2 to 113.9 and averaging 15.5. In addition to his scholarship, Murach is also training the next level of scientists. He co-authored four manuscripts in 2023 with doctoral students in his lab, gave 11 different lectures in 2023 and provided the keynote address at the Munich Muscle Meeting in Germany.  He also gave two oral/podium presentations at the Florida Myology Meeting and the American Physiology Society Summit. As principal investigator, he received more than $2.6 million in external grants in 2023 while overseeing two currently funded grant projects totaling more than $850,000. Murach's new and ongoing funding from external sources is more than $3.5 million. He has two additional NIH grants in the review process as PI and another nine under review as co-PI, which speaks to his ability to be an effective collaborator. Murach serves as an editorial board member for three journals and contributing editor for another. He is also an ad hoc abstract reviewer for the American College of Sports Medicine and 13 other high-impact journals.

Craig Schmitt, teaching assistant professor of recreation and sport management
Outstanding Teaching Award

Schmitt's creation and offering of a completely new elective, RESM 4253: Business of Sport, allowed him to facilitate the interaction of recreation and sport management students with industry professionals. Schmitt taught the course in the January and May 2023 intersessions to 20 undergraduate and graduate students. After selecting students from an application process based on their seniority and career interests, he spent the first week of the course introducing students to the sports entities and venues they would visit. During the January intersession, he took students to Dallas, where they engaged with over three dozen industry professionals from renowned sports teams, venues and entities, including the Texas Rangers, Dallas Cowboys and Dallas Stars. Students who took the course in May interacted with more than 20 industry professionals associated with sports organizations, including the Kansas City Royals and Kansas City Chiefs. Students described their experience in Schmitt's course as "incredible," "amazing" and "enlightening." Schmitt also completely redesigned RESM 1013 to help students entering the program identify viable career paths of interest within the sports industry. Throughout the semester, he introduced students to various industry segments and the job functions available in each. Schmitt arranged and hosted 32 Zoom interviews with industry professionals so students could learn about the roles these individuals play within their respective organizations and interact with them.

Brent Williams, associate professor of counselor education and supervision
Superior Service Award

Williams has been a faculty member for 21 years and has devoted his energy to improving the lives of individuals with disabilities through his research, grants, public service work and advocacy. Williams is a true champion for individuals with disabilities, and his work in this area has made a significant impact in the local community, across Arkansas and throughout the nation. He is president of the board of directors for Sources for Community Independent Living, a local non-profit organization serving individuals with disabilities. He also serves on two rehabilitation counseling advisory boards for the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and Arkansas Tech University. Williams is a grant reviewer for the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and a member of the Tulsa International Airport Access advisory board. He was recently awarded two significant service grants as PI. The STAR: Seamless Transition in Arkansas award is a $10-million grant sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education that focuses on improving transition services for students with disabilities as they move into post-secondary education or employment after high school. The second service grant, for $216,437, is sponsored by the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services to support Williams and two other colleagues in providing evaluations of the various programs implemented by the Department of Workforce. In addition to these two new grants, Williams has continued to administer and manage $14.39 million in externally funded projects. To date, he has been awarded over $58 million in externally funded projects focused on improving the lives of individuals with disabilities and providing educational funding support to approximately 300 students receiving M.S. and Ph.D. level training in rehabilitation counseling. He has also been an advocate on campus for the rights of students, staff and faculty with disabilities and recently earned the Disability Awareness Award from the U of A Office of Accommodation and Accessible Services (OEOC-AAS) in collaboration with the Center for Educational Access.    

Outstanding Honors Faculty Award

Each year, the college's honors students nominate faculty members for the Outstanding Honors Faculty Award. A subcommittee of the Honors Council selects the recipient.

This year's winner is:

Nicholas Greene, professor of exercise science
Outstanding Honors Faculty Award

Greene has excelled in mentoring the college's honors students, offering invaluable guidance, feedback and encouragement throughout their undergraduate careers, especially during the rigorous thesis process. He has also aided students in learning the highest-quality research techniques that align with their academic interests and career aspirations. Additionally, Greene has actively created opportunities for honors students to contribute to his research team's ongoing projects to provide students with practical research experience, which will be critical to their success in the future. Greene is committed to engaging students in meaningful research while fostering a collaborative learning environment where students are encouraged to constantly seek out new concepts and make significant contributions to continuing research. 

About the College of Education and Health Professions: The College of Education and Health Professions' six departments prepare students for a range of careers in education and health. In addition to its longstanding role of preparing educators and educational leaders, the college trains nurses, speech-language pathologists, public health specialists, recreation and sports professionals, counselors, occupational therapists, athletic trainers, and exercise scientists.