Sept. 17, 2024
Regents Excellence Awards
- Led effort for polling on presidential candidate preferences among potential attendees of the Republican and Democratic Iowa caucuses.
- Directed surveys of prospective Iowa caucus attendees, reaching an estimated 658 million readers in 2020.
- Co-chaired the University Course Evaluation Working Group, standardizing the course evaluation process across campus during COVID-19.
- Received more than $1 million in funding from the National Science Foundation as principal investigator or co-principal investigator.
- Authored three books, including "Ignored Racism: White Animus Toward Latinos," which received the 2021 best book award from the American Political Science Association Section on Race, Ethnicity and Politics.
- Serving her fourth term on the Faculty Senate. Her service has included leading a senate council and several committees to impact shared governance.
- Provided expertise on the task force on the Use and Ownership of Instructional Materials, updating a policy stagnant for 50 years.
- Chairs the Student Athlete Experience Committee for the ISU Athletics Council to strengthen the experience of Cyclone student athletes.
- Organized Admitted Students Day for the kinesiology department and participated as a faculty panel member for university orientation for students and families.
- Mentored undergraduates' research efforts, including 25 Honors students' theses.
- Secured continuous funding since 2008 from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for her research group.
- Assembled and led a multidisciplinary team for a $3 million DOE grant to develop advanced spectroscopic instruments.
- Mentored 17 Ph.D. students and 30 undergraduate researchers.
- Hosts high school students and teachers in her laboratory during the summer, fostering early interest in STEM fields.
- Nomination letter: "Dr. Smith is the most effective grant writer I have ever met."
- Testified on land use policy before the Iowa Legislature, influencing state-level policy decisions.
- Served on the Empower Rural Iowa task force, contributing to legislative recommendations that promoted rural housing, businesses and connectivity.
- Developed the "Introduction to Planning and Zoning" workshops attended by more than 4,100 people in 96 Iowa counties.
- Created the Midwest Planning BLUZ blog that has 700 to 1,000 monthly visits, providing updates on planning laws and case examples.
- Received multiple awards for excellence in extension work, including the Iowa American Planning Association President's Council Leadership Award and national recognition for flood education projects.
- Initiated the Iowa Board of Regents shadowing program to create direct interactions between regents and more than 60 faculty members.
- Has served as chief faculty marshal for 23 years to help plan and execute multiple commencement ceremonies each semester.
- Elected Faculty Senate president and served several terms on the executive council while holding numerous council and committee chairs.
- Helped expand the biology core courses and develop needed upper-level courses.
- Nomination letter: "Rob is central to governance and leadership at ISU and has been for decades."
- As Iowa State's first full-time honors and awards coordinator, shaped the position to maximize its impact and enhance the university's national reputation.
- Worked with college leaders and departments to identify deserving faculty and increase the number of award recipients.
- Works with nominees to coordinate strong nomination packets and meet deadlines.
- Initiated a higher education promotional campaign and developed a dedicated website to disseminate achievements broadly.
- Envisioned and organized the first honors and awards recognition celebration (2023) to highlight faculty and staff achievements and promote a culture of recognition on campus.
- Nomination letter: "I want to underscore the tremendous creativity and initiative that Kirsten has brought to her work. She is someone who always has an idea to bring forward."
- Led the onboarding of and promotes continuous improvement of the VDL's quality management system software.
- Developed an elevated quality assurance program early in the pandemic to help the VDL's Public Health Testing Services laboratory achieve certification for COVID-19 human testing.
- Served as the principal VDL staff liaison with ISU facilities planning and outside firms to plan, design and construct the new VDL building.
- Manages the review process for more than 7,000 active documents within the VDL's Quality System regularly, ensuring compliance and successful audits.
- Rather than mandating quality assurance requirements to them, collaborates with VDL staff to understand their processes and find efficient ways to meet quality management requirements.
- Led the department through transitions during the implementation of improved service delivery and Workday.
- Ensures department events are accessible and inclusive.
- Supported the department's governance and award committees to process award nominations and faculty promotions.
- Her volunteer commitments include Open Line (crisis intervention phone line), United Way, sewing and quilting for sick children, Ames Public Library and Food at First.
- Nomination letter: "Many of us owe a debt to Nancy for her unfailing reliability, creativity, skill, intelligence, impact and no-nonsense ability to get what needs to be done, done."
- As center director, significantly expanded its reach and improved its services to support thousands of Business students.
- Created a two-part workshop for students on using artificial intelligence with effective ChatGPT prompts.
- Led the Professional and Scientific Council as president-elect, president and past president (2021-24).
- Volunteers regularly at Destination Iowa State, Greek awards ceremonies and various Ivy College of Business events.
- Founded Love From Me to You in 2020, providing lasagna meals to individuals in need throughout central Iowa, and hopes to make it a not-for-profit organization.