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Over sixty faculty members from diverse disciplines were recognized for their research and teaching achievements at the 2025 Faculty Career Achievement Award Ceremony on March 24.

The University’s Faculty Career Achievement Award went to David Meltzer, Henderson-Morrison Professor of Prehistory and Executive Director of the Quest Archaeological Research Program in the Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences. Meltzer is an archaeologist whose research revolves around the origins, antiquity, and adaptations of the first Americans (Paleoindians) who colonized the North American continent at the end of the Pleistocene.

Meltzer has taught at SMU since 1984. His scholarship has appeared in many leading peer-reviewed journals, such as Nature, Science, and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and he is the author several books. He is an affiliate professor in Prehistory, Climate and Environment, at the Centre for GeoGenetics, Globe Institute, at the University of Copenhagen, a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

 David Meltzer, the 2025 Faculty Career Achievement Award honoree, gives thanks and remarks about his journey at SMU.

The Faculty Career Achievement Award was established in 2015 and recognizes one individual each year for remarkable contributions across the scope of a career by a tenured and currently serving SMU faculty member who has contributed to the teaching, scholarship, and service missions of the University.

The ceremony also celebrated seven faculty members who earned distinguished national and international accolades for their contributions to fields including law, history, the arts, and other disciplines. They are:

Nathan Cortez, co-director of the Tsai Center for Law, Science and Innovation and the inaugural Adelfa Botello Callejo Endowed Professor of Law in Leadership and Latino Studies at the Dedman School of Law, American Law Institute Member, who is widely recognized in the areas of health law, administrative law, and FDA law.

Johan Elverskog, professor of religious studies in the Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, and member of the School of Historical Studies at the Institute for Advanced Studies, which supports scholarship in all fields of historical research.

Jeffrey Engel, David Gergen Director of the Center for Presidential History and senior fellow of the John Goodwin Tower Center for Political Studies in the Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, U.S. Department of State Fulbright Diplomatic Academy Scholar, who was recognized for advanced research and university lecturing.

Adam Jasienski, associate professor in art history at the Meadows School of the Arts, recipient of the Ronald H. Bainton Prize for Best Book on Art and Music History for Praying to Portraits: Audience, Identity, and the Inquisition in the Early Modern Hispanic World, given by the Sixteenth Century Society.

Eric Schmidt, lecturer of musicology at the Meadows School of the Arts, interested in how people make and remake social worlds through musical and sonic expression, and an American Council of Learned Societies Fellow.

Jenia Turner, Amy Abboud Ware Centennial Professor in Criminal Law at the Dedman School of Law, American Law Institute Member, whose scholarship interests include U.S., comparative, and international criminal law and procedure.

Xi Wang, professor of music composition and theory at the Meadows School of the Arts and John Simon Guggenheim Foundation - Guggenheim Fellow, which offers fellowships to exceptional individuals in pursuit of scholarship in any field of knowledge and creation in any art form.

Additional faculty members honored include:

2024-2025 University Distinguished Professors

Mark Chancey, Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Religious Studies

Jennifer Dworak, Lyle School of Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering

Yildirim Hurmuzlu, Lyle School of Engineering, Mechanical Engineering

Karen Lupo, Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Anthropology

Thomas Ritz, Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Psychology

Cox School of Business

Sreekumar Bhaskaran – Information Technology and Operations Management, Best Working Paper: Finalist – INFORMS
Dedman School of Law

Joanna Grossman – Chris Reed-Brown Pro Bono Award – Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program

Thomas Leatherbury – James Madison Award, Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas

Carla L. Reyes – Mentorship Award – American Association on Law Schools Technology Fellow – American College of Commercial Finance Lawyers

Simmons School of Education and Human Development

Stephanie Al Otaiba – Teaching and Learning, Jeannette E. Fleishner Career Leadership Award – Council for Exceptional Children Division of Learning Disabilities

Mario de la Garza – Counseling, President Elect – Texas Counseling Association

Perkins School of Theology

Jamie Clark-Soles – Theology, Affiliated Research Award – The Petrie-Flom Center of Health, Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics at Harvard Law School

Robert Hunt – Theology, Excellence in Interfaith Relations Award – Islamic Society of North America

Priscilla Pope-Levison – Theology Lifetime Achievement Award – Wesleyan Theological Society, Sam Taylor Fellowship – General Board of Higher Education and Ministry

Susanne Scholz – Theology, John G. Gammie Distinguished Scholar Award – Southwest Commission of Religious Studies

Marcell Silva Steuernagel – Theology, Sam Taylor Fellowship – General Board of Higher Education and Ministry

Sze-kar Wan – Theology, Sam Taylor Fellowship – General Board of Higher Education and Ministry

Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences

Matthew Abel – Anthropology, Post Ph.D. Award – Wenner-Gren Foundation

Philippe Chuard – Philosophy, Sam Taylor Fellowship – General Board of Higher Education and Ministry

Katie Condon – English, Creative Writing Fellow – National Endowment for the Arts

Melissa Dowling – History, Sam Taylor Fellowship – General Board of Higher Education and Ministry

Johan Elverskog – Religious Studies, Fellow – Swedish Collegium for Advanced Studies

James F. Hollifield – Political Science, Marie Curie Award – European Commission

Macabe Keliher – History, Sam Taylor Fellowship – General Board of Higher Education and Ministry

Zhong Lu – Earth Science, Fellow – American Geophysical Union

Renee McDonald – Psychology, Honorary Doctorate – Karlstad University, Sweden

Amnon Meir – Mathematics, Sam Taylor Fellowship – General Board of Higher Education and Ministry

Alicia Meuret – Psychology, Sam Taylor Fellowship – General Board of Higher Education and Ministry

Pablo Mijangos – History, International Correspondent Member – Mexican Academy of History

Neely Myers – Anthropology, Sam Taylor Fellowship – General Board of Higher Education and Ministry

Charles South – Statistics, 2025 Chair-Elect / 2026 Chair – The American Statistical Association’s Section on Statistics in Sports

Herve Tchumkam – World Languages, Sam Taylor Fellowship – General Board of Higher Education and Ministry

Nick Tsarevsky – Chemistry, Fellow – American Chemical Society

Kathleen Wellman – History, Sam Taylor Fellowship – General Board of Higher Education and Ministry

Meadows School of the Arts

Mark Allen – Advertising, Silver Medal – Graphis International Design Awards

Amber Bemak – Film and Media Arts Sam Taylor Fellowship – General Board of Higher Education and Ministry

Emily Budd – Art Sam Taylor Fellowship – General Board of Higher Education and Ministry

Frederico Camara – Art Sam Taylor Fellowship – General Board of Higher Education and Ministry

Sean Griffin – Film and Media Arts Sam Taylor Fellowship – General Board of Higher Education and Ministry

Megan Heber – Corporate Communication and Public Affairs Sam Taylor Fellowship – General Board of Higher Education and Ministry

Barbara Hill-Moore – Music Distinguished Legacy Award – University of Illinois College of Fine and Applied Arts Lifetime Achievement Award – South Africa Association of Teachers of Singing Siyabonga Award – Dallas Metroplex Musician's Association

Samuel Holland – Dean Obelisk Award – Business Council for the Arts

Adam Jasienski – Art History Richard L. Kagan Prize – Association for Spanish and Portuguese Historical Studies

Anna Lovatt – Art History Summer Stipend – National Endowment for the Humanities

Brian Molanphy – Art Sam Taylor Fellowship – General Board of Higher Education and Ministry

Jennifer Prediger – Film and Media Arts Sam Taylor Fellowship – General Board of Higher Education and Ministry

Joe Phua – Advertising Scripps Howard Leadership Academy – Syracuse University

Devon Smith – Film and Media Arts Sam Taylor Fellowship – General Board of Higher Education and Ministry

Nishiki Sugawara-Beda – Art Sam Taylor Fellowship – General Board of Higher Education and Ministry

Lyle School of Engineering

Richard Barr – Operations Research and Engineering Management Senior Member – Institute for Operations Research and the Management Science

Nico Makris – Civil and Environmental Engineering Member – The Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts

Sila Cetinkaya – Operations Research and Engineering Management Senior Member – Institute for Operations Research and the Management Science Award for the Advancement of Women in Operations Research and Management Science – INFORMS

Minjun Kim – Mechanical Engineering Fellow – Royal Society of Chemistry Senior Member – National Academy of Inventors

Sanjaya Lohani – Electrical and Computer Engineering Sam Taylor Fellowship – General Board of Higher Education and Ministry

Eli Olinick – Operations Research and Engineering Management Senior Member – Institute for Operations Research and the Management Science

Kate Smits – Civil and Environmental Engineering Fellow – American Society for Civil Engineers Runner Up – Colorado Governor’s Pathfinding Partnerships Award for High-Impact Research

Jessie Zarazaga – Civil and Environmental Engineering Fellow – Dallas Institute for Humanities and Culture Award – Chinese Institute of Engineers, USA DFW Chapter

The SMU Faculty Career Achievement Award Ceremony is held annually to honor some of the most noteworthy accomplishments of SMU’s faculty, both this year and over the course of their careers.