Congratulations to the 2021 Faculty-Staff Inspiration Award recipients. The Alumni Association established this award in 2011. This honor presents a way for former ISU students to recognize current or former ISU faculty or staff members who had a significant influence in their lives as students at ISU. The Faculty-Staff Inspiration Award Program is funded by the Nancy and Richard Degner ISU Alumni Association Endowment. Nancy and Rich are both proud ISU graduates and life members of the Alumni Association. They are also sustaining life donors, serving a crucial role in the Association’s mission of engaging diverse partners to showcase the work and accomplishments of Iowa State University and Cyclones everywhere. Recognition plans will be shared soon. Nominations are due Dec. 1 annually.

NOMINATE A CYCLONE ROLE MODEL


2021 Recipients

Brianna Burke

Associate Professor of Environmental Humanities in the Department of English, Environmental Studies, and American Indian Studies

  • Thinking critically, developing research and writing skills, finding a voice … when a student walks into Brianna Burke’s class, they can expect to do all of this.

  • Burke is an associate professor of environmental humanities at Iowa State University’s Department of English, Environmental Studies, and American Indian Studies. In her classes, Burke reaches beyond the topics. She challenges her students to find the inequities in their lives and do the difficult and uncomfortable work of exploring those inequities.

  • Burke’s is as much a class in ethics as in English. She has the singular talent of being able to influence her students in a very short time, hooking their interest and their academic prowess at the same time. In short, she is more than a CV. “She became my professor, adviser, mentor, life coach, café writing partner, and friend,” a former student noted in their nomination.

  • Burke is an accomplished author, academic presenter, and has been recognized for her research and writing. Some of her publications include “Beasts of the Southern Wild and Indigenous Communities in the Age of the Sixth Extinction” and “Teaching Environmental Justice Through The Hunger Games.”

  • “I learned about mountains being decimated, lands swallowed by the ocean, and the global health effects of climate change, especially on already marginalized people,” one of her nominators shared of Burke’s class. “I discovered something in myself.”

Giles Fowler

Associate Professor Emeritus, Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication (awarded posthumously)

  • “Father, husband, journalist, author, teacher, and cheerful troublemaker.” Just one colorful description of Giles Merrill Fowler.

  • Fowler grew up in Kansas City, Missouri. He was introduced to reporting at the knee of his father, a journalist for The Kansas City Star. Fowler would start his own career at The Star before traveling overseas for a year with The Times of London.

  • His interest in teaching later landed him at the Greenlee School of Journalism. Fowler was known well for his conservative use of adjectives, his deletion of exclamation points (“reserved only for the second coming of John Lennon or Jesus Christ,” one student recalls him saying), and for his elusive but well-deserved high marks.

  • Fowler had a love for life, and he showed it … whether capturing a class with his storytelling abilities or talking well into the night over a glass (or four, as guests account) of the good stuff, punctuating the conversation with his variety of signature phrases.

  • “Giles, an experienced newsman, dazzled the students immediately with his quick wit, his professional success, his energy and enthusiasm, and his belief that journalism was a high calling,” one of his nominators wrote.

  • It is a lesson that -- as his students can attest -- is important now more than ever. Fowler passed away in 2018. His loss is felt by his family, his friends, and the many, many minds he molded. He was an annual member of the ISU Alumni Association.

Manju Reddy

Professor and the Doris A. Adams Endowed Chair, Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition

  • What makes Manju Reddy an excellent mentor? Her devotion, her loyalty, and, above all, her patience.

  • Manju Reddy is a professor and the Doris A. Adams Endowed Chair at Iowa State University’s Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition. She is also an affiliated faculty member in the Interdepartmental Toxicology and the Global Resource Systems programs at ISU.

  • Her research focuses on improving iron bioavailability to alleviate iron deficiency anemia and understanding the role of nutrition in iron-excess-related diseases - especially Parkinson’s disease. She has received many awards at college and university levels for her research and international contributions. She has many publications and national and international presentations. In addition, she has served as an associate editor for International Journal of Vitamin and Nutrition Research and as a scientific advisor for the International Life Sciences Institute.

  • A hallmark of her dedication, Reddy has mentored numerous graduate and undergraduate students, with a number of her mentees being honored with prestigious awards and currently have successful professional careers. She is actively involved in training international scholars from India, Uganda, Peru, and Egypt, while also serving on international theses committees in India, Switzerland, and Sweden.

  • “No matter the scope or level of stress a project may bear, Dr. Reddy always maintains a benevolent mentorship style that allows her students to carry out their research with integrity, grit, and excitement,” one of her nominators wrote.

2020
Mark Bryden (View video recognition)
Thelma Harding (View video recognition)
Pol Herrmann (View video recognition)
Steven Hoff (View video recognition)
Brenda Thorbs-Weber (View video recognition)
Jeremy Withers (View video recognition)

2019
Detroy Green 
Connie Hargrave
Barb Licklider
Nancy Osborn Johnsen
Chris Rehmann
Jessica Van Winkle  

2018
LeQuetia Ancar
David Edwards
Thomas Emmerson
Eric Hoiberg
George Micalone

2017
Donald C. Beitz
Brad Dell
George A. Jackson
Gail Nonnecke
Stephen Pett

2016
Larry Ebbers
William Edwards
Matthew Ellinwood
Debra Gibson
Garry Greenlee
Thomas Hill
Robert Jolly

2015
Dianne Bystrom
Michael Gaul
Patrick Gouran
James Noxon
Jane Peterson
Ann Thompson

2014
Daniel Betts
Roger Bruene
Paul J. Hermann
Liz Kurt
Julie Kent Larson
John H. Schuh

2013
Christina Campbell
Desiree Gunning
Jan Jennings
Sara Kadolph
Jenn Plagman-Galvin
Kim Smith

2012
Elizabeth Beck
James Hoover
F. Wayne Klaiber
Richard Manatt
Frank Randall
Dana Schumacher

All-time ISU Award for Superior Service to Alumni Recipients

2012
Michael Golemo

2011
Larry H. Ebbers
Barbara M. Mack

2009
Nancy J. Evans

2008
John Wong

2007
Michael R. Crum 

2006
Carl E. Jacobson 

2005
Ann M. Gogerty   

2004
Lowell Greimann  

2003
David H. Miller
Judy Weiland

2002
Jacquelyne Alleman
Marshall Ruble
Liese VanderBroek

2001
Carlota Dubon de Gutierre
Jackie K. Jens     
Ronald A. Manning     
M. Sue Proescholdt     
David E. White    
Joyce Wray    

2000
Ronald J. Ackerman
Martha R. Clifford
Jane Lohnes
Barbara J. Royer

1999
Lori Kay Bushore
"Carol" Jane Galyon 
Paul Kassel
Virgine L. Monthei
Jen Peters
Pauline R. Smith
David A. Tesdall

1998
Barbara Z. Erickson
Jeanne Grace Gehm   
Desiree B. Gunning  
Jean Holt   
J. Charles Morris  
Joanne Nystrom    
Rosalie A. Ocker-Turner     
Gary G. Schwartz  

1997
Carol Brophy     
Ann (Coppernoll) Farni
Sally Gleason
Anita T. Nimtz    
Sharon Shepard   

1996
Carol E. Elliott     
Mary Jo Glanville     
Bernard Havlovic     
Norma J. Lewis     
James F. Lux     
Robert K. Patterson
Donna Schradle
Gail L. Stecker   

1995
Sylvia J. Anderson    
Mary E. Atherly     
Gary D. Bridges     
Philip P. Hufferd     
Lois A. Jacobson    
Carol M. Swenson     
Janet (Rohler) Greisch    

1994
Mary M. Howard    
Janet M. Luiken     
Michael C. Meetz
Allan L. Seim
Doris J. Sobottka     
Shirley (Johnson) Stakey
Donald J. Wishart

1993
Marcia L. Akers
Jon Bahrenfus     
Arun Barua    
Letha DeMoss     
Lynn Franco
Barbara Houk
Lorine (Rosewall) Matters
Gretchen L. Nickell
David G. Schoeller    
Gretchen H. Triplett    
Sharon Twedt    

1992
Arthur R. Anderson     
Helen H. Benner     
Donald H. Goering    
Norma Hensley     
Nancy A. Holcomb     
Peggy J. Johnston   
John T. McConnell     
Beverly Ann Owings
Carroll R. Ringgenberg
Ronald K. Skrdla

1991
Patricia A. Borts
Kathy Highland     
Peter A. Krumhardt     
Carl T. Moen     
Roberta North     
Kenneth W. Ross     
Lynette K. Sherer     
John V. Sjoblom    

1990
Charlene K. Carsrud    
Donna Cerka     
Allen E. Christian
Stephen R. Pendry
John A. Wallize Jr.    

1989
Harlan H. Baker 
Ervin C. Johnson
Sally Johnson
Rupert E. Kenyon Jr.
Paul Lem
Betty Meyer
Eldon Ness
Randall A. Petersohn
David R. Torgeson

1988
M. Bruce Abbey
Diane K. Childs
Jean Crovisier
Joann M. Kinyon
Carol R. Kline
Jack O. Moorman
Stan Myers
Marlene J. Richard

1987
Dean W. Biechler
Wayne Fruehling
Sandra K. Green
Julia A. Henderson
Lois McVicker
Ronald L. Orth
John W. Pace
Fred C. Schlunz
Janice I. Schneider
Glen O. Thompson

1986
Bernard H. Beaudry
Marvin W. Buechler
Shelley S. Hawkins
Eva Lloyd Kinstle
Delores Connie M. Prior
Betty A. Rasmussen
Donald Paul Schroeder
Dorcas L. Speer
Joyce Van Pilsum

1985
Nadine L. Buss
Wilma Jean Conard
Mary W. Lees
Doris E. McCormick
C.C. Mosier
Frederick Schmidt

1984
David N. Ballard
E. Douglas Brown
George F. Covert
Leone M. Ferguson
Abby J. Ostrem

1983
Fern M. Carlson
Margaret Cooper
Kenneth L. Driftmier
Paul E. Larson
Eileen A. Vasey

1982
Jerry L. Amenson
Beverly Burnett
John C. Huseby
Ilah E. Maron
Samuel A. McDowell
Dorothy L. Myers
Raymond P. Nicholson
Grace Olsen
Janet Putnam

1981
Ethel K. Boyington
Hazel F. Cook
Ina M. Couture
Laura (Christiensen) Dailey
Leola Gustafson
Margaretha Hansen
Virgie I. Hotchkiss
Cleo A. (Rustad) Kolpin
Donald E. Sprague

1980
Herschel W. Anderson
Avis L. Andre
LaVerna E. Carey
Evelyn Jensen
T. Joseph Morrissey
Alice V. Schaeffer
Charlotte (Strothman) Young
Helen E. Young

1979
A. Mae Alsin     
Charles L. Benn     
LeDena Faye Bishop     
Wanda M. Daley     
Iona T. Hegland
Gladys B. Willert
Florence E. Williams
Eugene L. Clubine (posthumous)

1978
Marguerite L. Berry
Garry L. Mitchell
Alvina Owenson
Harold W. Shoen
Waldo W. Wegner

1977
Floyd S. Ransom
Carmi N. Spicer
Herbert A. Taylor

1976
Ralph R. Bean
Margaret (Goosman) Kirwin
Ray J. Seymour

1975
Anthony "Tony" Coletti
Margaret Mae Gross
Veola A. Johnson
Harry E. Shrake

1974
LeRoy 'Bud' Brendeland
Lois E. Thomas

1973
Dorothy Kehlenbeck
Irene Spear
Virgil Spear
Glendora "Tippy" (Briley) Timm
Nelson L. Wagaman

1972
Hazel L. Clausen
Ethel Foster
Donald T. Mason
Edgar P. Swanson

1971
Alexander W. Begg   
Dorothy (Acklin) Erskine
William E. Holmes
Donald S. Stevens

All-time Faculty Citation Recipients

2003
Cigden Akkurt
Lloyd Lee Anderson
Mark L. Power

2002
Joan E. Herwig     
Richard M. Robson
Kathleen M. Trahanovsky

2001
Mufit Akinc 
David W. Lynch
Laurie Mareta Sandra
Charles Bradley Shrader
Roger A. Smith

2000
Don Flugrad
Kenneth R. Jolls
Marit Nilsen-Hamilton
Ronald H. Peters
John William Schafer

1999
Mary Lynn Damhorst
John C. Even Jr.
Dennis C. Johnson
Russell N. Laczniak
Bruce Edward Smith

1998
William W. Bathie
David L. Carlson
Richard B. Carter
Donna (Friedman) Curry
Nolan R. Hartwig
James Huss
Richard Price Manatt
Martha E. Russell
Jerry W. Young

1997
Rosalie J. Amos
Michael F. Berard
Robert S. Boston
Richard E. Carlson
Michael R. Crum
Sara J. Kadolph
Lee R. Kolmer
Peter J. Reilly

1996
Roger Baer
Tahira K. Hira
David K. Hoffman
David L. Hopper
Terry S. King
Thomas E. Loynachan 
Roger P. Murphy
Anton Netusil

1995
John J. Andrews
Garren O. Benson
Chester S. Comstock Jr.
Jane Ann Cox
Alyce M. Fanslow
Ronald L. Grier
Kenneth L. Larson
Robert E. Lewis 
Kenneth G. McConnell     
James C. McElroy    
Richard K. Miller 
Bruce R. Munson     
Gary D. Osweiler
Daniel C. Robinson
Dale H. Ross
Wayne A. Rowley
Jane G. Smiley

1994
Benjamin J. Allen
Neil A. Bjurstom