D.P. Russ Jr. and Walter S. Jones Sr. Alumni Award for Teaching Excellence
Dr. Lee Rynearson
Associate Professor of Engineering
School of Engineering
Dr. Lee Rynearson Dr. Peter Ahiawodzi, associate professor of engineering in the School of Engineering, was awarded the 2022-2023 D. P. Russ Jr. and Walter S. Jones Sr. Alumni Award for Teaching Excellence.
Rynearson is a founding faculty member of the School of Engineering. In his eight years at Campbell, he has been instrumental in designing the engineering program. His accomplishments are not only numerous but point to his student focused approach and joy in teaching and learning. Some of his accomplishment include design of the first-year program in the School of Engineering and advising the NASA Human Exploration Rover Challenge Team.
Rynearson leads the first-year program for the School of Engineering using hands-on, project-based approach, inquiry-based learning and peer instruction. This class also focuses on building the engineering identity of students, and this project has developed into a collaborative research effort with other institutions to promote engineering identity formation in first-year engineering students.
He is also the faculty advisor the NASA Human Exploration Rover Challenge team, which is made up of 30 engineering majors. The team spends thousands of hours of out-of-class work undertaken by students to design, build and test the rovers which leads to a competition. The team from Campbell has won two of the nine international collegiate awards after only four years of competition advised by Rynearson.
Rynearson promotes the success of his students in all aspects of his teaching and service. He helped design innovative teaching and collaboration spaces. He has worked with Student Success to create the Engineering Tutoring Center in Carrie Rich Hall. He has also led several pedagogy workshops to share his expertise with the campus community.
D.P. Russ Jr. and Walter S. Jones Sr. Alumni Award for Research Excellence
Dr. Peter Ahiawodzi
Associate Professor of Public Health
College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences
Dr. Peter Ahiawodzi, associate professor of public health in the College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences, was awarded the 2022-2023 D. P. Russ Jr. and Walter S. Jones Sr. Alumni Award for Research Excellence.
Ahiawodzi holds a Master of Public Health and PhD in epidemiology from the University of Louisville. His research interests involve studying risk factors for cardiometabolic disease. He is a member of the Diabetes Working Group of the Cardiovascular Health Study, a network of investigators committed to diabetes and cardiovascular-related research. He is also a Fellow of Programs to Increase Diversity Among Individuals Engaged in Cardiovascular Research, a program designed to include scholars of underrepresented background in cardiovascular related research and to facilitate mentor-mentee partnerships for long-term research collaborations.
Ahiawodzi has more than 10 years of experience in research design, data management and analysis and has published in high-impact journals including Journal of Gerontology, Journal of the American Geriatric Society, Journal of Nutrition, American Journal of Infection Control, and most recently, the Atherosclerosis journal. He currently serves on the Campbell University Institutional Review Board (IRB), and he is also a member of the College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences Peer Review and Diversity and Inclusion Committees.
Dr. Michael L. Adams, former dean of the College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences and current vice president for academic affairs and provost, said of Ahiawodzi, “Dr. Ahiawodzi is an accomplished researcher who brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences. This award is a well-deserved recognition for his skill and efforts in research.”
Both Dr. Lee Rynearson and Dr. Peter Ahiawodzi received a commemorative trophy and $500 prize to honor their work.