These awards celebrate Wayne State graduate faculty's accomplishments and commitment to both their own research and scholarship, and the training and support of their master's and Ph.D. students. Awardees will be honored at the April awards ceremony.

The Distinguished Graduate Faculty Award honors an outstanding faculty member for scholarly achievement in research and teaching and contributions to graduate education. It alternates annually between the humanities/social sciences and the health/natural sciences. This year's award was made in the humanities/social sciences.

Elizabeth Faue, Professor and Department Chair, History, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Kenneth Jackson, Professor and Department Chair, English, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences

The Outstanding Graduate Mentor Awards celebrate faculty members who are recognized by their departments and graduate students as superb graduate mentors. Each of the recipients below inspire their students with their dedication and enthusiasm for their area of research and provide guidance, support and encouragement for their mentees leading to publications, networking opportunities and excellent career placement.

Michele Cote, Associate Professor, Associate Director, Center for Education, Oncology, School of Medicine
Karen Beningo, Associate Professor, Biological Sciences, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
David Merolla, Associate Professor, Sociology, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences

The Outstanding Graduate Director Service Awards are new this year, and co-sponsored by the Office of the Provost. These awards recognize graduate directors who go above and beyond in service to advance graduate education in their programs. They are exemplary in their teaching, research, scholarship, mentorship, and as leaders of graduate education in their departments.

Derek Daniels, Associate Professor, Communication Science and Disorders, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Jogindra Wadehra, Professor and Associate Chair, Physics and Astronomy, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Steven Firestine, Professor, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

This year the Graduate School awarded 46 Competitive GRA Awards across disciplines. The faculty below will receive 12-month GRA positions for winter and spring/summer terms of 2018-2019 to support their research and create opportunity for select students in their programs.

Ramona Benkert, Associate Dean for Academic and Clinical Affairs, Associate Professor, Nursing, College of Nursing
Aliccia Bollig-Fischer, Assistant Professor, Oncology, Cancer Biology, School of Medicine
Zhiqiang Cao, Associate Professor, Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering
Mark Cheng, Associate Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Alina Cherry, Associate Professor, Classical and Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
John Corvino, Professor, Philosophy, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Xiaoyan Han, Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering, College of Engineering
Bhanu Jena, George E. Palade University Professor & Distinguished Professor, Physiology, School of Medicine
Gail Jensen Summers, Director of Training and a Professor of Economics, Institute of Gerontology
Charles Klahm, Associate Professor, Criminal Justice, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Catalina Kopetz, Assistant Professor, Psychology, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Julie Lesnick, Assistant Professor, Anthropology, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Wendy Matthews, Assistant Professor, Music, College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts
Rahul Mitra, Assistant Professor, Communication, College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts
Anna Moszczynska, Associate Professor, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
Eranda Nikolla, Associate Professor, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Nanoengineering, College of Engineering
Kristin O'Donovan, Assistant Professor, Political Science, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Jeff Pruchnic, Associate Professor, English, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Marsha Richmond, Professor, History, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Abusayeed Saifullah, Assistant Professor, Computer Science, College of Engineering
Jared Schrader, Assistant Professor, Biological Sciences, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Sokol Todi, Associate Professor, Pharmacology, School of Medicine
Xiaohong (Mary) Zhang, Associate Professor, Cancer Biology, School of Medicine
Zhixian Zhou, Associate Professor, Physics and Astronomy, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Dongxiao Zhu, Associate Professor, Computer Science, College of Engineering
Yubin Ge, Associate Professor, Cancer Biology, School of Medicine
Maik Huttemann, Professor Center for Molecular Medicine and Genetics, School of Medicine
Kang Chen, Assistant Professor, Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine
Stephan Patrick, Associate Professor, Oncology, School of Medicine
Hyeong-Reh Kim, Professor, Pathology, School of Medicine
Ratna Chinnam, Professor, Industrial and Systems Engineering, College of Engineering
Mohammadreza Nasiriavanaki, Assistant Professor, Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering
Elaine Zhu, Professor, Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering
Caisheng Wang, Associate Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering, College of Engineering
Shawn McElmurry, Associate Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering
Kai Yang, Professor, Industrial and Systems Engineering, College of Engineering
Mohammad Mehrmohammadi, Assistant Professor, Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering
Carol Miller, Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering
Jeremy Rickli, Assistant Professor, Industrial and Systems Engineering
Antonia Abbey, Professor, Psychology, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
George Yin, Professor, Mathematics, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Kevin Zhou, Associate Professor, Nutrition and Food Science, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Penelope Higgs, Assistant Professor, Biological Sciences, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Stanislav Groysman, Associate Professor, Chemistry, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Tamara Hendrickson, Associate Professor, Chemistry, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Valerie Simon, Associate Professor, Psychology, Merrill Palmer Institute, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences

Read more about Graduate School faculty awards.