Faculty accolades

Elegy on Kinderklavier, a book by Arna B. Hemenway, assistant professor in the department of English, in Baylor’s College of Arts and Sciences, has been awarded the 2015 PEN/Hemingway Award for a distinguished first work of fiction, the largest and preeminent award for debut fiction in the country.

Hemenway will receive $20,000 from the Hemingway family, The Ernest Hemingway Foundation and PEN New England, as well as a residency in The Distinguished Visiting Writers Series at the University of Idaho’s MFA program in creative writing. This residency comes with a $5,000 honorarium and a Ucross Residency Fellowship for a month at the Ucross Foundation in Wyoming, a retreat for artist and writers.

Patrick Hemingway, the son of author Ernest Hemingway, presented the award to Hemenway on April 19 at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston.

Dr. Kendall Artz, chair of the Department of Entrepreneurship and director of the Baylor Entrepreneurship Program in Baylor's Hankamer School of Business, has been named a Justin G. Longenecker Fellow in Entrepreneurship, the highest honor given by the United States Association of Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE) to individuals who have made significant contributions to the development of small and medium businesses. Fellowship recipients are recognized for advancing entrepreneurial education through teaching, writing, research, training and public service. Since 1986, only 66 individuals have been selected as Fellows. Artz is the second Baylor faculty member to be elected, following Dr. Ray Bagby, associate professor of entrepreneurship.

Dr. Roger Kirk, Baylor Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience, has been named the recipient of the Charles L. Brewer Distinguished Teaching of Psychology Award, the highest teaching award given by the American Psychological Association (APA). Kirk is a Fellow of the APA, the largest professional psychology organization in the United States. He has been teaching at Baylor since 1958. When awarding the Charles L. Brewer Distinguished Teaching of Psychology Award, the APA seeks candidates who demonstrate teaching influence, develop innovative curricula and produce significant research.

Dr. Cheryl Riley, BSN, '94, MSN '03, lecturer and coordinator of the Neonatal nursing program in Baylor's Louise Herrington School of Nursing, received an award for excellence in neonatal nursing by D Magazine. Riley, who received her DNP from Creighton University, has practiced nursing internationally in Vietnam and India, focusing on infant and maternal mortalities and the benefit of delayed umbilical cord clamping. Riley has been a neonatal nurse practitioner for 10 years, but she states that she enjoys teaching as much as nursing.

Dr. Lindsay R. Wilkinson, an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology in Baylor’s College of Arts and Sciences, has won the 2014 Senior Service America Junior Scholar Award from the Gerontological Society of America. The award was presented to Wilkinson at the society’s 67th annual scientific meeting in Washington, D.C. The award recognizes outstanding applied research that advances knowledge and understanding of the capabilities, contributions, challenges and concerns of disadvantaged older adults, especially those who are low-income and minority group members.

Dr. Richard Russell, professor of English and graduate English program director, has been awarded the Robert Penn Warren-Cleanth Brooks Award for literary scholarship and criticism for 2014 for his book, Seamus Heaney’s Regions. The award was established to honor the innovative, critical interpretation of literature offered by Robert Penn Warren (1905-89) and Cleanth Brooks (1906-94) and to celebrate the continuation of such achievement. The Advisory Group to the Center for Robert Penn Warren Studies, Western Kentucky University, originated the award in 1992.

Dr. Lesley Wright, associate professor of mechanical engineering in Baylor's School of Engineering and Computer Science, was honored with the 2015 Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) International Ralph R. Teetor Educational Award for her work as faculty adviser for Baylor Baja. Each year, the Baylor Baja team constructs a Baja car and competes against national and international teams in events that gauge endurance and design. Wright has been dedicated to helping Baylor engineering students gain real-world experience through designing and building off-road vehicles since 2009.