APLU Announces 2019 Board on Human Sciences Award Winners

Washington, DC – The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) Board on Human Sciences (BoHS) today announced that four outstanding individuals will be honored with its 2019 Board on Human Sciences Awards. The annual honors are presented to national leaders working to advance human sciences in higher education. The awards will be presented at the APLU Annual Meeting on November 11, 2019 in San Diego, California.

The awards are aimed at supporting the development and stewardship of academic excellence in human sciences; elevating visibility and leveraging resources to support human sciences research, extension and teaching programs; and educating leaders regarding the capacity of the human sciences to solve human problems. The honors are part of the broader BoHS mission of promoting the intellectual integrity and stature of the human sciences at APLU member institutions.

This year’s award winners are:

2019 Lifetime Achievement Award
Dr. June Henton, former Dean of the College of Human Sciences at Auburn University and former chair of the APLU Board on Human Sciences, is the winner of the 2019 Board on Human Sciences Lifetime Achievement Award. The award honors a nationally-recognized leader who has a significant history of promoting and advancing the human sciences in higher education. Dr. Henton was a prolific researcher throughout her career, publishing on marriage and family issues and serving on several academic journal editorial boards. From her post as dean, she championed a number of initiatives advancing the human sciences. Her tenure included: the creation of the National Textile Center University Research Consortium to enhance the knowledge base for the continuing viability of the U.S. Fiber/Textile/Fiber Products/Retail complex; the launch of an International Board of Advisors to the college to promote internationalization as well as established of the Joseph S. Bruno Auburn Abroad in Ariccia, Italy to open students’ minds and broaden their worldviews; the founding of the College of Human Sciences Hospitality Management Program; and the Auburn University War on Hunger, an academic partnership with the United Nations World Food Programme, to tackle hunger and malnutrition.

2019 Ellen Swallow Richards Public Service Award
Dr. Sonny Ramaswamy, president and CEO of the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, is the winner of Ellen Swallow Richards Public Service Award. The award honors a nationally-recognized leader who has a significant history of promoting and advancing the human sciences. Dr. Ramaswamy served as Director of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for six years starting in 2012. There, he was responsible for leadership in formulating national policies to support extramural research, education, and Extension in a variety of areas including the development of new food, fiber, and energy sources and the promotion of the health and welfare of people and communities. Prior to his time at USDA, he served as dean of Oregon State University’s College of Agricultural Sciences and director of the Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station and associate dean of the Purdue University College of Agriculture.

2019 Outstanding Engagement Award
Dr. Julie Garden-Robinson, food safety and nutrition specialist at North Dakota State University, is the winner of the 2019 Outstanding Engagement Award. The award recognizes a campus-based or a state-level faculty member with exceptional creativity and scholarship in the development, application, and evaluation of outreach, extension, and public service programs. Dr. Garden-Robinson has led a variety of programs at NDSU addressing urgent community needs through food safety and nutrition programming. Her work has centers on addressing childhood obesity, chronic disease, and healthy nutrition. She has also placed particular emphasis on reaching underserved populations such as refugees, Native Americans, and low-income individuals.

2019 Undergraduate Research Mentor Award
Dr. Elizabeth Stegemöller, assistant professor of Kinesiology at Iowa State University, is the winner of the 2019 Undergraduate Research Mentor Award. The award recognizes a faculty member in the human sciences for exceptional performance as a research mentor to undergraduate students. Dr. Stegemöller leads the Department of Kinesiology’s role in the Iowa State University Freshman Research Initiative. She has also deeply engaged graduate students. Her interdisciplinary research team examines the effect of music on motor cortical activity in individuals with Parkinson’s disease. In all, Dr. Stegemöller’s student research team includes 21 juniors and seniors, 12 first-year students, and six masters and doctoral students. In her recruitment of student-researchers, she has placed a particular emphasis on students from underrepresented backgrounds.