Trinity University Celebrates 2026 Faculty and Staff Awards

Every year, Trinity University recognizes faculty and staff for their exceptional achievements and dedication to advocacy, research, student success, and more. Discover the 2026 award recipients below, and read the full descriptions of each award here. 

Trinity also recently recognized Paul McGinlay and Andrew Tucker with the Helen Heare McKinley Employee Excellence Award, about which you can read more here.

View additional photos from the Faculty and Staff Awards Ceremony→

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

This annual award recognizes one faculty member for excellence in teaching and advising.

Timothy O’Sullivan, Ph.D., Professor of Classical Studies | O’Sullivan’s teaching philosophy emphasizes developing skills in his students that have broad application, including discernment via active engagement with scholarly debates and source criticism. Among many pedagogical triumphs, O’Sullivan co-designed a study abroad course on ancient Roman religion in Rome, organized a Lennox Seminar around Roman landscape, and has mentored 44 research students. O’Sullivan also co-founded the first humanities lab at Trinity, the Roman World Lab, which continues to see success.

Murchison Term Professorships

These awards honor exceptional achievement in teaching, scholarship or creative activity, and service among Trinity faculty members.

Maria Pia Paganelli, Ph.D., Professor of Economics | Paganelli’s classes are models of Socratic dialogue that encourage students to connect economic theory to lived experience. She developed and co-teaches an interdisciplinary study abroad course in Iceland. Internationally recognized in her field, Paganelli’s scholarly record includes 50 refereed journal articles, 15 refereed book chapters, two edited volumes, a commissioned monograph translated into Italian, 51 book reviews, presentations at 86 international conferences, more than 180 invited lectures worldwide, and two Fulbright fellowships to Chile.

Andrew Porter, MFA, Professor of English | Porter’s published works have received many accolades. His most recent novel, The Imagined Life, has earned significant national recognition, including but not limited to being named a New Yorker “Best Book of the Year,” longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal of Excellence in Fiction, and selected as a finalist for the International Lattes Grinzane Book Prize. In the classroom, Porter is especially skilled at fostering an inclusive and supportive environment in creative writing workshops. He has revitalized the creative writing discipline at Trinity and has helped develop it into a thriving interdisciplinary minor.

Amy Stone, Ph.D., Professor of Sociology and Anthropology | Stone fosters open discussion and offers cutting-edge sociological perspectives on gender and sexuality in their courses. They are a leader in undergraduate research mentoring, leading a research lab and producing six coauthored peer-reviewed publications, with additional manuscripts under review. Stone’s research has reshaped sociological understandings, with a particular emphasis on Texas and the Southwest, and appears in leading journals. Stone is a dedicated advocate and public servant, contributing to LGBTQ+ advocacy in San Antonio in many capacities. 

Deneese L. Jones Award for Inclusive Excellence

One award is given annually to a tenured or tenure-track faculty member and another is given annually to a staff member, for outstanding support of inclusive excellence.

Michele Johnson, Ph.D., Professor of Biology | Johnson cultivates learning environments where all students—especially those historically underrepresented in STEM—feel empowered to reach their full potential. She led the transition of student leaders into a campus chapter of the Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science, strengthening pathways for diverse students in STEM. Institutionally and nationally, Johnson’s ongoing contributions, including national scholarship on equitable leadership, efforts to address grading equity gaps, and work to credential inclusive pedagogy, demonstrate a sustained commitment to creating lasting structures to ensure individuals and communities alike can thrive.

E’Randa Newsome, Program Operations Manager for the Center for International Engagement | Newsome has established a culture where students feel welcomed, respected, and empowered to grow. She is widely recognized for engaging across differences, mentoring students with care and intention, and encouraging both personal confidence and professional development. Newsome created an independently developed resource library that enhances student belonging. Beyond Trinity, she contributes her time to organizations such as the San Antonio Ethnic Art Society and is the founder and creative director of San Antonio DreamWeek’s Drag in Diaspora. 

Danny and Kimberly Anderson Faculty Prize

This prize honors exceptional contributions by faculty members in the mentorship of research students.

Carolyn Becker, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology | Becker’s mentorship has been described as “transformative” and “unparalleled.” In the past decade alone, Becker has published papers in peer-reviewed journals with 41 different student co-authors. Becker’s mentorship has earned her national recognition, as she was the 2024 recipient of the Lawrence H. Cohen Outstanding Mentor Award from the Society for a Science of Clinical Psychology, a prestigious lifetime achievement award that previously had only been awarded to scholars from R1 institutions. 

Distinguished Achievement Awards

Distinguished Early Career Faculty Teaching and Research Award: Emma Treadway ’11 , Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Engineering Science | Treadway is an innovative, student-centered educator and a scholar of national and international visibility in both haptics and engineering education. She prepares students for real-world decision-making, and balances teaching technical proficiency with cultivating confidence and belonging. Treadway built two productive and nationally visible research programs, and she mentors undergraduate students as research collaborators, giving them access to high-impact scholarship typically reserved for graduate students. 

Distinguished Early Career Faculty Teaching and Research Award: Emilio de Antuñano Villarreal, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of History | Villarreal’s brings together historical methodology, interdisciplinary research, collaborative inquiry, and honest analysis in an effective roster of courses that challenge students’ worldviews. Since arriving at Trinity in 2019, Villarreal has maintained an ambitious publication schedule, with articles published in English and Spanish and his first monograph, The Politics of Informality: Housing and Planning in Mexico City, is forthcoming. Villarreal’s scholarship is lauded as “a distinctive and significant voice in the field of Latin American urban history.”

Award for Distinguished Advising and Mentoring: Maxence Leconte, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Modern Languages and Literatures | One student described Leconte as “The most caring, enthusiastic, and supportive professor I have encountered in my academic career.” Leconte is well-known and praised among students for his structured classes, prompt feedback, and motivational award system. His constant encouragement leads students to enjoy the process of learning a new language, helping them lose the fear of making mistakes so they can build confidence and actually enjoy learning, mistakes and all.

Award for Distinguished University, Community, and Professional Service: Kelly Grey Carlisle, Ph.D., Associate Professor of English | Carlisle’s service work is extensive both on campus and in the San Antonio community, including serving on the Faculty Development Committee, the Animal Research Committee, the Campus Board of Publications, and the University Committee for Sustainability, which she chaired for two years. Carlisle also chaired the University Curriculum Council. Carlisle’s efforts have directly impacted research and teaching at Trinity, shaped public initiatives and publications, and positively affected the working lives of faculty in every School. 

Award for Distinguished Scholarship, Research, or Creative Work or Activity: Heather Sullivan, Ph.D., Professor of Modern Languages and Literatures | Sullivan boasts an “enviable national and international reputation as an eminent scholar in German, comparative, and ecocritical studies,” said one colleague. She has an astounding 76 publications and has served as a grant reviewer for the Austrian Science Fund, the National Humanities Center, and the Research Foundation of Flanders. Her scholarship is held in the highest esteem by her colleagues, and Sullivan is considered a groundbreaking pioneer in German ecocriticism, whose work has wide-reaching, interdisciplinary, and global impact.