Fresno State machine subject prof Dr. Aris Athanasios Panagopoulos was selected for the university’s 2025 Provost’s Award for Excellence successful Teaching, announced Dr. Xuanning Fu, Fresno State’s provost and vice president for Academic Affairs.
The Provost’s Awards besides honored the pursuing faculty:
- Dr. Chelsey Juarez, Department of Anthropology — Distinguished Achievement successful Research, Scholarship and Creative Accomplishment Award.
- Dr. Kathleen Rindahl, School of Nursing — Faculty Service Award.
- Akhil Kanodia, Department of Management — Outstanding Lecturer Award.
Three module members were selected for the Promising New Faculty class of the Provost’s Awards successful designation of their exemplary achievements successful teaching, research, originative activities and/or work among non-tenured, tenure-track faculty. The honorees are:
- Dr. Kristina M. Rios, Department of Literacy, Early, Bilingual and Special Education.
- Dr. Joel Slade, Department of Biology.
- Dr. Yang Sao Xiong, Department of Anthropology.
The Provost’s Awards includes a class for Outstanding Staff successful designation of a well-established vocation arsenic evidenced by unparalleled show successful work to the section oregon programme and the university.
- Rocio Garcia, College of Social Sciences.
- Alexis Holladay, Division of Graduate Studies.
The Provost’s Awards were established successful 1993 to admit the outstanding teaching, probe and work that is cardinal to the ngo of Fresno State. Honorees supply students with a stimulating situation that fosters learning and affirms the assemblage arsenic an intelligence and taste person successful the Central Valley.
Excellence successful Teaching
Aris Athanasios Panagopoulos (computer science) is committed to processing the adjacent procreation of scientists who volition pb the aboriginal of artificial quality and technology. With a inheritance successful AI from the University of California, Berkeley, Panagopoulos emphasizes progressive learning, interdisciplinary collaboration and solving real-world problems with a passionateness for mentoring students from underrepresented and underserved communities. He believes acquisition is astir cultivating curiosity, enquiry and captious thinking. Panagopoulos joined Fresno State successful 2018. He developed and redesigned aggregate courses that span theoretical foundations with real-world applications. His mentorship has led students to person prestigious awards, to people successful journals and to unafraid doctoral fellowships and manufacture positions. Panagopoulos besides provides students with probe opportunities done the Artificial Intelligence and Intelligent Systems Lab astatine Fresno State. His enactment extends beyond the schoolroom with work connected committees crossed the section and assemblage to signifier policies that interaction module and students.
Distinguished Achievement successful Research, Scholarship and Creative Accomplishment Award
Dr. Chelsey Juarez (anthropology) is simply a first-generation assemblage and doctoral postgraduate who returned location to the Central Valley from North Carolina State University to bid the adjacent procreation of forensic anthropologists. She is simply a apical steadfast successful the Anthropology Department having co-published 9 papers successful apical tier journals, co-published 2 adjacent reviewed publication chapters, 1 publication and 1 laboratory manual and has authored 18 league presentations astatine nationalist and determination conferences since joining Fresno State successful 2018. She uses existent and innovative methods of forensic subject to enactment societal justness and quality rights. Juarez is utilizing isotope mapping methods to assistance place missing migrants and to assistance communities larn astir their ancestors. She has beardown relationships with the Madera County Sheriff and has received national backing to usage forensic anthropological methods to place Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons.
Faculty Service Award
Dr. Kathleen Rindahl (nursing) has ever felt a calling to service others with the anticipation of making a meaningful impact. Rindahl came to Fresno State successful 2013. One of her archetypal initiatives was to found the Mobile Health Unit programme to supply wellness attraction to underserved populations. She served arsenic programme manager until autumn 2023 erstwhile she became seat of the School of Nursing wherever she works to guarantee that the programme aligns with accreditation standards. She has served connected a fig of assemblage committees including the Academic Policy and Planning Committee and the university’s COVID task force. Her nonrecreational work extends into the assemblage wherever she is simply a subordinate of the California Association of Nurse Practitioners and has served successful enactment positions with different nursing organizations. Rindahl strives to foster an situation of service, collaboration and excellence successful wellness attraction and her enactment reflects her passionateness for education, advocacy and work to others.
Outstanding Lecturer Award
Akhil Kanodia (management) fosters an entrepreneurial mindset among his students and advances initiatives that beforehand innovation and economical growth. He does this done the improvement of an entrepreneurship course, “Managing the New Venture,” successful which his students tally and negociate each facet of the Craig School of Business Student Store from merchandise improvement to trademark licensing approvals, vendor absorption and selling and sales. They launched 10 limited-edition Fresno State- and Craig School-branded products and generated $5,640 successful gross with a 27% nett profit. Kanodia serves arsenic the acting manager of the Lyles Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and is starring the readying committee for the Fresno State Innovation and Entrepreneurship Summit. He mentors students and alumni, serves arsenic advisor for the Entrepreneurship Club and arsenic a justice successful transportation competitions. Engaging successful entrepreneurial initiatives helps guarantee that Kanodia’s teachings and work are informed by latest trends and developments.
Promising New Faculty
Dr. Kristina M. Rios (literacy, early, bilingual and peculiar education) focuses connected peculiar education, disablement advocacy and family-school partnerships with an accent successful supporting culturally and linguistically divers families of children with disabilities. She has authored much than 11 peer-reviewed diary articles, aggregate publication chapters and a children’s book. She presents astatine conferences and engages successful probe collaborations. She uses innovative and inclusive teaching methods to make learning environments wherever students consciousness empowered and supported and she serves arsenic mentors to undergraduate and postgraduate students. Rios, who came to Fresno State successful 2021, participates successful Ensenamos en el Valley Central, an inaugural that strengthens assemblage assemblage pathways to enactment Latinx educators. She has led platicas connected peculiar acquisition instrumentality and advocacy and helped enactment connected an institute bid centered connected intersectional justness and healing. She served connected a fig of assemblage committees and is prof successful residence for the Tulare and Clovis Teacher Residency Programs.
Dr. Joel Slade (biology) has taught 12 antithetic courses since arriving astatine Fresno State successful 2019, including halfway biology courses, postgraduate seminars, electives and 2 caller courses successful ecology and improvement of birds and molecular biology. His probe centers astir avian ecoimmunology drafting involvement from students successful ecology, immunology, microbiology and evolution. Slade works to physique a student-centered programme grounded successful inclusive mentorship, impactful probe and service. His students person gone connected to competitory doctoral programs, to veterinary schoolhouse and obtained jobs arsenic ecologists and biologists. A large accomplishment for Slade was receiving a $468,000 National Science Foundation assistance successful outpouring 2023, his archetypal submission. The assistance provided paid probe opportunities for master’s students and enabled Slade to make Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences successful his classes. Slade takes pridefulness successful engaging with the nationalist by starring vertebrate walks successful the community, participating successful peculiar events astatine the Fresno Chaffee Zoo and sharing his research.
Dr. Yang Sao Xiong (anthropology) is simply a trained sociologist but his enactment overlaps into anthropology and Asian American Studies. His probe focuses connected knowing the socioeconomic adaptation and governmental incorporation of migrant groups, with an accent connected Hmong refugees and different Asian immigrants successful the U.S. Xiong joined Fresno State successful 2022 and has published 3 diary articles and 1 publication section with much to come. He is presently studying the acquisition experiences and attainment of Southeast Asian American students, including students astatine Fresno State to find ways to summation graduation rates. Xiong creates engaging and inclusive spaces for students to sermon analyzable Asian American concepts and issues. He partnered with colleagues connected a crowdfunding run for a pupil assistance named aft 2 retired Asian module members and helium co-hosted the inaugural Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Student Leadership Conference connected field for K-12 students. Xiong is simply a sought-after adept and nationalist speaker.
Outstanding Staff Award
Rocio Garcia (public health) has worked astatine Fresno State since 2016 arsenic an administrative adjunct archetypal successful the dean’s bureau for the College of Health and Human Services and presently for the Department of Public Health. She has established herself arsenic a invaluable unit subordinate acceptable to assistance the lecturers successful her department, to pass with the dean’s bureau and to assistance students erstwhile needed. She does it all, adjacent helping to lick exertion issues to make her ain skills and to learn. Garcia listens with empathy, offers affectional enactment and direction. She strives to embody service, pupil enactment and nonrecreational excellence ensuring that everyone she works with has the resources they request to thrive. This presumption is not conscionable a occupation for Garcia — it is simply a calling grounded successful service, collaboration and continuous growth.
Alexis Holladay (graduate studies) was hired arsenic an world counsellor successful the College of Science and Mathematics successful 2014 to make the Advising and Resources Center. There, she created indispensable advising tools and processes, established transportation pupil grounds reviews and built cohort-style people artifact enrollment for the first-year acquisition programme each with a extremity of ensuring students transitioned successfully to college. In 2023, she became the pb postgraduate grade specializer successful the Division of Research and Graduate Studies moving with module connected postgraduate program changes and starring 2 grade specialists who negociate the processes related to postgraduate students completing their degrees. She is arrogant to play a relation successful advising and supporting students, arsenic good arsenic establishing and improving advising and program processes.
