Trinity Recognizes the 2023 Faculty and Staff Awardees

This May, Trinity University honored members of its faculty and staff for their excellence in and dedication to student advocacy, inclusivity, teaching, advising, research, and mentorship. Read more about this year’s faculty and staff awardees and how they uphold the University’s core values as champions of student success.  

Danny J. Anderson Faculty Prize

The Danny J. Anderson Faculty Prize was created to honor the presidency of Danny J. Anderson, Ph.D., who retired in May 2022. This award, made possible by combined gifts from the Trinity University Board of Trustees and Board of Visitors, recognizes exceptional contributions by Trinity faculty members in the mentorship of research students.

Amy Stone, Ph.D

Professor, Sociology and Anthropology

Amy Stone has been deeply involved in mentoring undergraduate research students in the summers and throughout the academic years for more than a decade. Since 2012, they have supervised 38 undergraduate research assistants and four post-baccalaureate research students, all Trinity students or alumni. Stone has organized two team research projects—Strengthening Colors of Pride, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and Family Housing and Me, funded by the National Science Foundation. Multiple students contributed to the Strengthening Colors of Pride Community Report, which studied LGBTQIA+ health and resilience in San Antonio and led to increased funding and mental health services for LGBTQIA+ service organizations in the city.

Distinguished Achievement Awards

The Distinguished Achievement Awards recognize faculty and staff who have shown outstanding dedication and accomplishments at the University. Employees have been recognized for excellence in areas including advising and mentoring; scholarship, research, or creative work; university, community, and professional service; and early career teaching and scholarship and receive a $2,000 award for their efforts.

Award for Distinguished Advising and Mentoring

Ed Schumacher, Ph.D

Professor and Chair, Health Care Administration

Ed Schumacher stands out to all for his student-centered focus. He meets and talks with each of the students as they progress throughout the Health Care Administration program, gauging how the program fuels their growth, noting ways to connect students and guide their career progression, and identifying opportunities to enhance the program experience for current and future students. “To put it simply,” one student explained, “Dr. Schumacher’s greatest strength is his ability to connect with his students on a personal level while motivating and inspiring them to do more than they thought possible.”

Award for Distinguished Scholarship, Research, or Creative Work or Activity

Carolyn Becker, Ph.D

Professor, Psychology

Since coming to Trinity, Carolyn Becker has authored 67 peer-reviewed papers—39 of which were co-authored with Trinity students—as well as four books. Her research program provides evidence-based strategies for fostering a healthy body image and addressing eating disorders, and she is considered a leader in the implementation of peer-led prevention programs. Becker’s innovative approach to the delivery of the Body Project has been used by over 250 universities in North America as well as numerous nonprofit partner organizations around the globe. As one colleague puts it, “Her work is designed and executed in a way that truly impacts tens of thousands of people.” More recently, Becker and her students have been studying the link between those without food security and eating disorders in collaboration with the San Antonio Food Bank.

Award for Distinguished University, Community, and Professional Service

Claudia Stokes, Ph.D

Professor, English

Claudia Stokes is an engaged and passionate citizen of the University and the wider world. Stokes is currently serving her second term on the Faculty Senate and co-directing Trinity’s Humanities Collective. Past University-level commitments include serving on the Diversity and Inclusion Task Force, on the Roots Commission (as co-director), on the Women’s and Gender Studies faculty advisory committee (as co-director), and as a student advocate for the Title IX Office. In the community, Stokes has contributed consistently and selflessly to the work of Temple Beth-El and the Jewish Federation of San Antonio. In 2020 alone, she found the time and energy to organize the Alamo Heights March for Racial Justice, to volunteer as a deputy registrar for Bexar County, and to serve as an instructor for the Texas Humanities Institute for Teachers.

Early Career Faculty Award for Distinguished Teaching and Research

Orin Shindell, Ph.D

Assistant Professor, Physics and Astronomy

Orrin Shindell is known as an innovative, challenging, and compassionate instructor and a dedicated mentor of undergraduate research students. He recently created a course called “Physics and Modern Humanity,” which uses diverse sources such as the works of W. E. B. Du Bois, Bertrand Russell, Cosmos, and National Science Foundation (NSF) reports to explore how scientific discoveries shape human experience. In the area of scholarship, Shindell is a leading participant in an interdisciplinary research group that has produced multiple peer-reviewed publications in top biophysics and biological mathematics journals with undergraduate co-authors. The success of this group was recently underscored by an $800,000 NSF grant, with Shindell as the principal investigator.

Benjamin Sosnaud, Ph.D

Assistant Professor, Sociology and Anthropology

Benjamin Sosnaud is described as a gifted teacher and a committed advisor and mentor. His courses focus on the “fundamental causes” of social problems in a way that fosters critical analysis as well as a deep understanding of social inequality. As one colleague puts it, the goal of these courses is “to encourage students not only to master content but to live differently.” Working with multiple large datasets, Sosnaud has published articles in the most prestigious journal of population studies in the United States, the leading journal of medical sociology in the U.S., and one of the top-five generalist sociology journals in the U.S. In evaluating these articles, external reviewers praised the careful research design and sophisticated quantitative analysis involved, and they noted that Sosnaud is making a compelling case for specific improvements in U.S. health policy.

Dr. and Mrs. Z. T. Scott Faculty Fellowship

The Dr. and Mrs. Z.T. Scott Faculty Fellowship is the highest recognition of excellence in teaching and advising at Trinity and is the most prestigious faculty award the University bestows. The fellowship consists of a cash award and an additional stipend to be used by the recipient to enhance their professional development as a teacher and adviser. Trustee Emeritus Richard M. Kleberg III established the fellowship in 1984 in honor of his grandparents, Dr. and Mrs. Z.T. Scott.

Betsy Winakur Tontiplaphol, Ph.D. 

Professor and Chair, English

Betsy Winakur Tontiplaphol’s 18 years at Trinity have been defined by her commitment to student success and to designing and delivering well-crafted learning experiences. Colleagues inevitably compare her teaching to poetry, the subject that happens to be the nearest and dearest to her. From structured lectures to student-focused discussions to in-depth feedback on assignments, Tontiplaphol’s balance between free and artfully measured teaching makes her students feel both challenged and supported inside and outside the classroom. She designs assignments and exercises that encourage her students to connect course materials to their everyday lives, such as her Jane Austen movie-to-book comparison presentations.

Dr. Deneese L. Jones Award for Inclusive Excellence

Dr. Deneese L. Jones is a multicultural educator, a scholar of equity pedagogy, and a senior academic leader with a career in education spanning more than 40 years. She served as vice president for Academic Affairs at Trinity from 2016-21 and was the first woman of color to serve as the University’s chief academic officer. In honor of Dr. Jones, two $2,000 awards will be given annually to one tenured or tenure-track faculty member and one staff member for their outstanding support of inclusive excellence.

Elseke Membreño-Zenteno

Program Associate, Center for International Engagement

Elseke Membreño-Zenteno has been working for the Mexico, the Americas, and Spain Program (MAS) since 2015 and has had a crucial role in coordinating MAS-sponsored events, the Álvarez Seminar Series, and the MAS Alvarez Internship Grant Program. Her efforts and programmatic support have also resulted in the creation of the De Colores Graduation Celebration; various study abroad programs in Madrid, Cuba, and other parts of Latin America;  and the Latinx Heritage Month, among others. Membreño-Zenteno was also instrumental in taking students to Washington, D.C., for the Latinos on the Fast Track lead leadership summit with Juan Sepúlveda, J.D., in Summer 2022.

Rita E. Urquijo-Ruiz, Ph.D.

Professor, Modern Languages and Literatures

Rita E. Urquijo-Ruiz’s service at Trinity has included directorship of three of the University’s most prominent programs that promote diversity: Mexico, the Americas, and Spain, Global Latinx Studies, and Women’s and Gender Studies. She created the global Latinx studies major to teach Trinity students about Latinx diasporas throughout the world. She helped to create the Latinx Leadership Institute and has taught in it since its inception. Urquijo-Ruiz has mentored 15 Latinx and LGBTQIA+ students through the process of applying to graduate programs. She has served on the Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Lecture and Diversity and Inclusion committees. Urquijo-Ruiz has played a similar role for organizations outside of Trinity, such as the ACS Faculty of Color Mentorship Program and the Association for Jotería Arts, Activism, and Scholarship.

Murchison Term Professorships

The Murchison Term Professorships honor exceptional achievement in teaching, scholarship or creative activity, and service among Trinity faculty members. To be eligible for consideration, an applicant must have served as a full-time faculty member at Trinity for 10 years and as a tenured faculty member at the rank of professor for five years by June 1, 2023. Each Murchison Term Professorship is accompanied by a reward of $20,000 annually in the form of a salary supplement, a research stipend, or a combination of the two. Each professorship is awarded for a three-year term.

Jonathan King, Ph.D. 

Professor, Biology

Jonathan King has been an active participant in the Howard Hughes Medical Institute grant-funded project focusing on inclusion in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. He currently directs the Successful Start Workshop, an annual program at Trinity for postdoctoral scholars and early career faculty in the San Antonio area, which aims to develop ethical, intentional STEM educators. King has helped build a robust scientific infrastructure at Trinity by collaborating on multiple instrumentation grants. As a result of his mentorship, some 30 Trinity students have been the presenting author at national or international conferences, and 15 undergraduate students have been co-authors on peer-reviewed publications.

Jennifer P. Mathews, Ph.D.

Professor and Chair, Sociology and Anthropology

Jennifer Mathews is an innovative classroom instructor and a dedicated mentor to undergraduate students. She has traveled with nearly two dozen students who have had their research papers selected for student and professional conferences, and she has taken dozens of Trinity students abroad to train them in archaeological methods and archival research. Mathews has published six peer-reviewed books and 15 peer-reviewed book chapters, has curated two exhibitions, and has given dozens of conference papers and public lectures. Fourteen years after its publication, her book on Chicle is still widely popular.

Judith Norman, Ph.D.

Professor and Chair, Philosophy 

In recent years, Judith Norman has developed a hands-on learning course called “Philosophy for Children”—a course that does not simply teach philosophy to children but rather enables Trinity students to do philosophy with children. She currently directs the Prison Education Project of San Antonio, which allows Trinity students to travel to prisons where they join incarcerated scholars in studying, discussing, and writing about philosophical and literary texts. Norman is politically active in San Antonio with Jewish Voice for Peace as well as with social and economic justice groups and education equity issues.

President’s Award for Excellence in Student Advocacy

Established in 2018, the President's Award for Excellence in Student Advocacy recognizes a faculty or staff member who has been a significant partner in supporting student success both inside and outside the classroom. Awardees are chosen based on how they support student success in and/or outside the classroom and how they go beyond the typical responsibilities of their role.

Alex Gallin-Parisi, M.S.L.S.

Faculty Librarian II, Associate Professor Instruction/Liaison, Library 

Alex Gallin-Parisi grasps the complex and holistic lives of our students and their potential as lifelong learners and citizens of the world. She has consistently served as a fervent advocate for intentional inclusion on campus since her start here in 2011. Gallin-Parisi took the initiative to relaunch and expand the Women’s and Gender Studies resource center in the library, thoughtfully selecting each piece of art and book. She’s also creating a Sexual Health resource guide with Counseling, Health, and Wellness Services as well as supporting student-athletes as part of our Academic Success Program. A colleague says, “Student advocacy is a consciousness for her. She lives it. She breathes it. We are privileged and humbled by her example.”

Elseke Membreño-Zenteno

Program Associate, Center for International Engagement

Described as “the loving heart of the Center for International Engagement” and as “the person who indecisive students talk to before making a big decision,” Elseke Membreño-Zenteno’s work is meaningfully inclusive, and her students know her door is always open to listen to their concerns and inquiries. She serves as the key liaison between students and sponsors in the Mexico, the Americas, and Spain Program and Alvarez Summer Internship Program, and she has helped create various programs that support and celebrate Trinity Latinx students. For example, Membreño-Zenteno co-led a trip to Washington, D.C., for the Latinos on the Fast Track leadership summit with Juan Sepúlveda, J.D., in Summer 2022. Trinity students view Membreño-Zenteno as a mentor, a confidant, and a family member who offers them a sense of support and belonging as they continue to survive and thrive at a primarily white institution.