Awards and honors

Awards

Christina Pugh, professor of English, was named the winner of the 2019 Juniper Prize for Poetry for Stardust Media, a collection of poems that “converse with technologies both ancient and electronic.” Pugh and winners of the prizes in the fiction and creative nonfiction categories will be published by the University of Massachusetts Press and each author will receive a $1,000 award upon publication.

Dr. Allen Putterman was honored at the spring meeting of the American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery in the Bahamas on May 31.  He received the Dortzbach Award, which is given for significant contribution to the field of oculoplastic surgery through outstanding teaching, academic, scientific and scholarly achievement, and for dedication throughout his profession.

Honors

Susan Poser, vice chancellor for academic affairs and provost, was selected to serve on the 2019-20 Board of Directors of the International Women’s Forum Chicago. The International Women’s Forum is an invitation-only membership organization of more than 7,000 diverse and accomplished women from 33 nations on six continents. The IWF Chicago forum comprises 200 local leaders from business, the arts, academia and nonprofit fields. Founded in 2003, the forum is the hub for global women’s leadership in Chicago.

TJ Augustine, interim vice chancellor for innovation, was being named among the 2020 class of the Emerging Leaders program from the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. Selected from a pool of highly competitive applicants, the class includes 19 of Chicago’s best and brightest from some of its most prominent organizations. Over the next year, the group will engage in a rigorous program to further their knowledge of U.S. foreign policy and strengthen leadership skills. At UIC, Augustine coordinates the technology commercialization and entrepreneurship activities that are part of UIC’s innovation ecosystem, and he serves as a professor in the chemistry department.

David Merriman, James J. Stukel Presidential Professor of Public Administration, has been appointed to the Cook County Revenue Forecasting Commission by Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle. This recently established independent commission is composed of three members serving three-year terms. Commission members are tasked with analyzing the five-year revenue forecast, developed annually by the chief financial officer, and providing quarterly updates to the president and Board of Commissioners. The forecast will take into account various county revenue sources, including sales and use taxes, property taxes, cigarette taxes, and fuel taxes, among others.

K. Milam Brooks, doctoral student in educational policy studies, Margaret Brower, doctoral student in political science, Araceli Rodriguez, graduate student in social work, and Maryiam Saifuddin, graduate student in public policy, were selected as Future Women in Government by Women in Government. They attended the group’s National Legislative Conference June 13-15 in Chicago, which included mentoring from local legislators.