TAMIU Recognizes Faculty, Community Partners at University Convocation

Texas A&M International University’s (TAMIU) Fall 2023 University Convocation recognized outstanding faculty and community partners in a ceremony held Tuesday, Oct. 10 at the Center for the Fine and Performing Arts Recital Hall.

TAMIU Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dr. Claudia San Miguel presented the 2023 Awards to University faculty while TAMIU President Dr. Pablo Arenaz presented  the Innovador Award, the Senator Judith Zaffirini Leadership Medal Award, and the University’s annual State of the University message.

The University’s Innovador Award was created in 2018 to recognize an individual or organization making a lasting impact on education, particularly higher education, in Laredo and the South Texas region.

This year’s Innovador Award recipients were Evelyn and the late Carroll E. Summers, Jr., long active in the life of their beloved Laredo as entrepreneurs, ranchers, and philanthropists. 

In presenting the Award to Evelyn Summers and her son Robert Summers, Dr. Arenaz said the Innovador Award was well-deserved.

“In love and life, Evelyn and Carroll created scholarship endowments at both TAMIU and Laredo College, in addition to scholarships with the Laredo Area Community Foundation and the Webb Soil and Water Conservation District.  This combined giving provided hundreds of students with educational opportunities they would not have.  Today, 141 currently enrolled students are benefiting from scholarships created by the Summers.  This love of community and support of higher education has created a lasting, transformational legacy in Laredo, which their son Robert Summers is proudly carrying forward,” Dr. Arenaz.

Past Award recipients include the late Frank Staggs, Guadalupe and Lilia Martínez Foundation Trustees Bob and Shirley González, and State Senator Judith Zaffirini.

Arenaz also presented the Senator Judith Zaffirini Medal for Scholarship and Leadership to Dr. Hayley D. Kazen, University College instructional associate.

“The Zaffirini Medal is awarded annually to a faculty member who has exhibited meritorious service and exemplary leadership to TAMIU.  Dr. Kazen’s impressive academic career spans close to three decades of meritorious service and exemplary leadership to TAMIU.  Her lasting impact has transcended almost every aspect of her University work including internationalization, instructional technology, academic leadership, teaching both in and out of the classroom setting, as well as service that has positively impacted faculty and student experiences,” Dr. Arenaz observed.

Kazen has served as a faculty senator, Faculty Senate subcommittee chair, senate vice-president, and Faculty Senate president. She is a model of service to students as a TAMIU Food Pantry advocate, champion of TAMIU’s freshman first-year experience, and was a semi-finalist for the prestigious Outstanding First-Year Student Advocate Award and Excellence in Teaching First-Year Seminars Award from the National Resource Center for the First-Year Experience and Students in Transition from the University of South Carolina.

Presenting the 2022 Faculty Awards was Dr. San Miguel, Provost.

Receiving the University’s Instructional Technology Excellence Award was Lilia Patricia Cantú, University College senior lecturer.

Cantú was recognized as an educator whose dedication to student growth, commitment to innovation, and unwavering passion for teaching have truly made a difference in the lives of students and colleagues. She has embraced technology to maintain personalized feedback, build strong student-instructor relationships, and affirm her commitment to accessibility. Her impact extends beyond the virtual classroom as she has been a true campus pioneer in leading Professional Learning Communities for her colleagues, sharing insights, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement. Her dedication to research-based best practices and strategies for online education has had a profound impact on her students' engagement and success. 

The Outstanding Teacher Award was presented to Alma V. Jasso, University College lecturer.  Jasso has taught Developmental math classes at TAMIU for over 15 years. Responding to State and institutional changes in the way developmental math is delivered, she now develops, prepares, and coordinates with the co-requisite math instructor for four distinct math courses.  Her dedication to students has seen her be selected twice as the University College Outstanding Teacher of the Year. She prides herself on creating an engaging curriculum and helping students work through their obstacles so that they can succeed in their co-requisite math courses. 

The Distinguished Scholar Award was received by  Dr. Jerry D. Thompson, Regents and Piper Professor of History. The recipient of numerous awards and honors from the Arizona Historical Society, Historical Society of New Mexico, and the Texas State Historical Association, Dr. Thompson is a prolific author of over 25 books and is considered one of the country's top scholars on the Southwest Campaign of the American Civil War and Border History. The recipient of the Texas State Historical Association’s 2018 Kate Broocks Bates Award for Historical Research for his Pulitzer-Prize nominated publication, “Tejano Tiger: José de los Santos Benavides and the Texas-México Borderlands, 1823-1891,” he has received the prestigious Pate Award twice.  

The Distinguished Teacher Award was presented to Dr. Diana Linn, associate professor of Curriculum and Instruction for the College of Education. A past recipient of the TTexas A&M University System’s Chancellor’s Teaching Excellence Award, in 2023 she was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Region 5 Texas National Association of Multicultural Education Conference.  She has spent over 20 years teaching graduate and undergraduate courses in Curriculum and Instruction, Multicultural Education, and Special Education at TAMIU. 

For additional information, contact the TAMIU Office of Public Relations, Marketing, and Information Services at 956.326.2180, email prmis@tamiu.edu, click on tamiu.edu, or visit offices in the Sue and Radcliffe Killam Library, room 268.

Information is also available on the University’s website, tamiu.edu, and social channels on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Threads, Twitter, and YouTube.