University of Denver Announces 2022 Faculty Awards
Author(s)
Jon Stone
Media Relations Manager
This year, the University of Denver is honoring six professors for their outstanding research and scholarship, commitment to their students and exceptional teaching. The 2022 award winners were selected based on nominations from colleagues and students.
Distinguished University Professor Award
Susan Schulten, professor in the Department of History in the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (CAHSS), is the recipient of the 2022 Distinguished University Professor Award. This award, the highest faculty honor presented at the University of Denver, recognizes career achievements. The Distinguished University Professor Award is based on scholarly productivity, national and international distinction in a field of research and work that makes a positive impact on society.
Schulten has been a professor in the Department of History since 1996 and served as department chair for six years. Her teaching centers around United States history. Schulten has published four books, with her most recent from 2018, A History of America in 100 Maps, now in its third printing. It has become one of the University of Chicago Press’s bestselling trade publications. She has just completed a book on the influential educator Emma Willard, which will be published in October.
For the past three years, Schulten has served as editor of Lost Highways, an award-winning podcast that focuses on little-known but important stories of the American West. Additionally, she was named earlier this year by History Colorado as a new member of the State Historian’s Council, which helps interpret the history of Colorado and the West.
University Lecturer Award
Cullen Hendrix, professor in the Josef Korbel School of International Studies, has been named the 2022 University Lecturer. This award honors superlative creative and scholarly work.
Hendrix has been a professor in the Sié Chéou-Kang Center for International Security and Diplomacy since 2013 and served as the center’s director from 2018–2020. His research focuses on contentious politics, the political economy of development and environmental politics. In addition to his position at DU, Hendrix is a nonresident senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and a nonresident senior research fellow at the Center for Climate & Security. Hendrix also served as a specially appointed research professor at Hiroshima University in Japan.
Hendrix's research teams have generated more than $7 million in grants from such agencies as the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Defense Minerva Initiative and the Carnegie Corp. He has co-authored two books and published more than 30 peer-reviewed articles.
Distinguished Scholar Award
Thomas Nail, a professor in the Department of Philosophy in CAHSS, has been named the 2022 Distinguished Scholar. This award recognizes unusually significant and meritorious achievement in professional scholarship, as evidenced by publications and their enhancing effect on classroom teaching.
Nail’s research centers on the philosophy of movement. He shows how metaphysical principles emerge out of historically specific kinetic processes. This approach to research allows Nail to engage with many diverse topics in the humanities and social sciences. He is the creator and author of Philosophy of Movement, a blog where he continually publishes content related to his research.
Nail started at DU as a postdoctoral fellow and was hired immediately when a position became available. He was awarded tenure and promoted to full professor early, and he is regularly invited to the provost’s annual research dinner because of the outstanding significance of his research. Nail has published 11 books and has authored more than 40 peer-reviewed essays and book chapters.
“I have so enjoyed getting to know the faculty here at DU and am delighted to have this opportunity to salute all of our faculty awardees. To all of our teacher-scholars and faculty service awardees, congratulations! We are tremendously fortunate to work with you and are exceptionally proud of all that you contribute to enriching our community. Thank you.”
Mary Clark Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor
Distinguished Teaching Award
Julie Morris, a teaching associate professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, has earned the 2022 Distinguished Teaching Award. This award recognizes excellent teaching that has constructively influenced students.
Since coming to the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics as a lecturer in 2012, Morris has developed and taught six courses for both majors and non-majors, and she has worked with 19 independent study students. Along with her full teaching load, Morris leads first-year seminars (FSEM) and has co-taught a winter interterm course in Peru.
Outside of the classroom, she works to support sustainability initiatives on campus and advises several student organizations, including the DU Botanical Society and the DU Pollination Association. Additionally, Morris established and manages DU’s Bridge Community Garden where community members can grow their own food and work toward the shared goals of education, sustainability and connection to nature.
Faculty Service Award
Kim Gorgens, professor in the Graduate School of Professional Psychology (GSPP), has earned the 2022 Faculty Service Award. This award is given to a faculty member in recognition of outstanding service to the University, the community or the profession.
Since the summer of 2020, Gorgens has served as the University’s deputy COVID response coordinator, assisting with the overall response to the pandemic that has kept DU open and the positivity rate on campus very low. Along with these efforts, she has continued her community-engaged teaching, scholarship and mentorship.
Gorgens has been on the faculty at GSPP since 2004, teaching in the PsyD Clinical Psychology, MA Forensic Psychology and MA International Disaster Psychology programs. Gorgens also works to create interdisciplinary opportunities with students and faculty across campus and with outside organizations in the community. She uses her expertise in the area of brain injuries to support legislation like the juvenile helmet law, the youth concussion management law and laws requiring screening for brain injuries after violent crimes.
Ruth Murray Underhill Teaching Award
Lauren Delle-Cotgageorge, an adjunct faculty member in the Graduate School of Social Work (GSSW), is the recipient of the 2022 Ruth Murray Underhill Teaching Award. This award recognizes excellence in teaching by an adjunct faculty member.
Delle is a licensed clinical social worker in Colorado and has been an adjunct faculty for GSSW’s Four Corners MSW Program since 2009. Her teaching portfolio includes mental health assessment in adults; intersection of mental health, substance use and trauma; clinical theories; and integrated social work practice for social justice.
Delle has demonstrated a willingness to experiment with new teaching modalities and was among the first instructors in the MSW@Denver program. After teaching in the online program, she now serves as a course coordinator by providing guidance to instructors and support for lead faculty responsible for course revisions and improvements.