Deans’ Award for Research and Creativity
The Deans’ Award for Research and Creativity is one of the highest honors bestowed to faculty at the university level by consensus of all deans. Nominees are selected for producing the highest quality research or creative activity. Researchers create innovative solutions to the challenges that matter most – turning their research into practical change that improves lives. Creative faculty challenge perspectives, evoke emotion and enrich dialog through composition, performance, visual expression and design. Each honoree receives $2,500.
Requirements: Full-time faculty who have been at TCU five years or more and have not been honored with either Deans’ Award nor the Chancellor’s Award in the previous seven years.
Nomination Process: Colleges and schools follow internal guidelines for their nomination processes. Each may submit one nominee, with AddRan College for Liberal Arts allowed to submit two: one from Humanities and one from Social Sciences.
Timeline: Each fall, the Provost’s Office submits Call for Nominations and nomination packets to deans. Deadline for nominations is mid-March. Deans convene and vote. Honorees are announced in April.
2025 Dean’s Award for Research and Creativity Honorees
Michael Faggella-Luby
Professor of Special Education
College of Education
Dr. Faggella-Luby is a recognized national and international researcher in the field of education for individuals with disabilities. He has received nearly $1.2 million in grant funding in the past year.
“My research is dedicated to advancing access, services, and outcomes for individuals with disabilities, with a focus on literacy interventions, postsecondary education, and technology applications,” Dr. Faggella-Luby says. “My work is grounded in multi-university and interdisciplinary collaborations bridging theory to practice, ensuring that it not only contributes to academic discourse but also drives meaningful change in classrooms and professional settings.”
Colleagues say that his accomplishments are the result of his “hard work, creative ways of identifying and addressing research-based issues in the field, and his extraordinary collaboration skills.” Many of his citations include graduate students and post-doctoral fellows, which “is indicative of his commitment to teach and mentor the next generation of researchers.”
Emily Lund
Associate Professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders
Harris College of Nursing & Health Sciences
Dr. Lund’s research focuses on remediating early language and literacy deficits in children who use hearing aids and cochlear implants. Up to 15 percent of children in the U.S. have some hearing loss by the time they are 18 years old. Even a mild loss during early childhood has a significant the impact on literacy.
Colleagues say that Dr. Lund is “not only an exceptional mentor in scientific excellence—guiding students, graduate students, and faculty in scholarship and grantsmanship—but also a pillar of support and inspiration. Her influence extends far beyond her research.” They say her work has “challenged the assumption that cochlear implants would lead to language performance in the average range for children who are deaf or hard of hearing.” “She has significantly enhanced the reputation of TCU’s research and training programs in the field of speech-language pathology, bringing substantial recognition to the university.”
Dr. Lund was awarded a $3.7 million Leadership Personnel Development training grant that funds nine Ph.D. students across three institutions in the field of speech-language pathology.
Anton Naumov
Associate Professor of Biophysics
College of Science & Engineering
Dr. Naumov develops and characterizes nanomaterials for possible use in drug delivery and imaging for a low-cost, portable and widely available cancer diagnostic and therapeutic solution.
His department chairs says that the “research capability of his lab has grown tremendously. Not only is his research at the cutting edge of biophysics, but his lab is a training ground for students.”
Dr. Naumov has established a one-of-a-kind laboratory with near-infrared spectrally-resolved microscopy and animal imaging capabilities, the only one in Texas. Near-infrared imaging penetrates through the layers of biological tissue and enables non-invasive molecular diagnostics. “I have discovered and developed new imaging tool that can detect cancer and neurodegenerative disease biomarkers. This solution grew into a stand-alone scientific area further explored by scientists all over the world, while my lab became a nationally and internationally recognized leader and innovator in this field.”
2025 Nominees
Emily Farris, AddRan College of Liberal Arts – Social Sciences
Mikhail Misha Galaganov, College of Fine Arts
David Moessner, AddRan College of Liberal Arts – Humanities
Swaminathan Kalpathy, Neeley School of Business
Jie Zhuang, Bob Schieffer College of Communication
2024 Dean’s Award for Research and Creativity Honorees
David G. Allen, Neeley School of Business
Taryn Ozuna Allen, College of Education
Kat Barger, College of Science & Engineering
2023 Dean’s Award for Research and Creativity Honorees
Hanan Hammad, AddRan College of Liberal Arts
Peter Frinchaboy, College of Science & Engineering
Tee Tyler, Harris College of Nursing & Health Sciences
2022 Deans’ Award for Research and Creativity Honorees
Aesha John – Harris College of Nursing & Health Sciences
Endia Lindo – College of Education
Adam McKinney – College of Fine Arts
2021 Deans’ Award for Research and Creativity Honorees
Gregg Cantrell, AddRan College of Liberal Arts
Sarah Quebec-Fuentes, College of Education
Sarah Hill, College of Science & Engineering
2020 Deans’ Award for Research and Creativity Honorees
Greg Friedman, College of Science & Engineering
Abbie Shipp, Neeley School of Business
Williams Gibbons, College of Fine Arts
For a complete list of Dean’s Award for Research and Creativity nominees and honorees from 1986 to present, contact the Provost’s Office.