- September 17, 2025
- By Maryland Today Staff
The 42nd annual Convocation ceremony on Wednesday will honor 32 outstanding university employees for their contributions to education, research and service, from making discoveries that tackle the world’s most difficult challenges to inspiring students in the classroom and improving daily life across campus.
“We gather today to honor life-changing teaching, research that solves pressing societal issues and vital service that makes our campus a better place to live, work and learn," UMD President Darryll J. Pines said. “The 32 faculty and staff we recognize at convocation today make us all proud to be Terps.”
Bonnie Thornton Dill, a professor emerita who served as dean of the College of Arts and Humanities for 11 years, will receive the President’s Medal, which recognizes extraordinary contributions to the intellectual, social and cultural life of the university. A pioneering scholar in the areas of Black and intersectional feminism, she transformed ARHU through visionary leadership and persistence in expanding the reach of the arts and humanities on campus.
Deborah Nelson, a professor in the Philip Merrill College of Journalism, will be honored with the Kirwan Research and Scholarship Prize, both for groundbreaking journalism that illuminates in-depth storytelling with deep data analysis, and her teaching aimed at equipping new generations of journalists with the skills to expose systemic failures throughout society.
Lawrence Washington, professor and associate chair for undergraduate studies in the Department of Mathematics, will receive the Kirwan Undergraduate Education Award for his innovative, inspirational teaching as well as his support of students' learning throughout the department.
Kristi Hall, associate director of undergraduate education in the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences, will accept the Sharon A. La Voy Data Impact Award for her excellence in data collection and analysis to enable the college’s operations.
Read more about all of this year’s awardees by clicking on their photos below:
Topics
Campus & Community