Six SBS Faculty Receive 2025 University Distinguished Faculty Awards

Six SBS professors have received prestigious Awards of Distinction from the University of Arizona in 2025 in recognition of excellence in leadership, outreach, mentoring, service, and teaching: Alex Braithwaite (University Distinguished Professor Award); Josephine “Jo” Korchmaros (University Distinguished Outreach Faculty Award); Amy Kimme Hea (Faculty Service Award); Michelle Téllez (Distinguished Scholar Award); Elizabeth “Beth” Tellman (Early Career Scholar Award); and Katie Hemphill (Gerald J. Swanson Prize for Teaching Excellence)

University Distinguished Professor Award

The University of Arizona Distinguished Scholar Award honors faculty who have made sustained contributions of consistent educational excellence and have demonstrated outstanding commitment to undergraduate education.

Alex Braithwaite
Professor, School of Government and Public Policy

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Alex Braithwaite is a professor in the School of Government and Public Policy whose research focuses on international relations and conflict processes. This includes the causes of violent and nonviolent conflict, including terrorism, protests, riots, civil war, and international wars; patterns of forced migration; and the use of systems of concentration camps as a form of repression. He is also the director and Melody S. Robidoux Fund Leadership Chair of the School of Government and Public Policy. 

Braithwaite has published one book, 45 peer-reviewed journal articles, and 14 chapters in edited volumes. He often publishes in the top journals in his field, such as the American Political Science Review, the Journal of Politics, the British Journal of Political Science, and the Journal of Conflict Resolution, and he regularly publishes with students, having coauthored four articles with undergraduate students and 19 articles with graduate students. 

Braithwaite’s research has been largely funded by grants obtained from the US National Science Foundation and the US Department of Defense. He has been the PI or co-PI on more than a dozen large grants totaling over $8.5 million, which have enabled him to hire and mentor dozens of undergraduate research assistants, many of whom have pursued graduate studies and careers in research or government.

A former student and recent alum wrote, “Without the support, inspiration, and mentorship I received from Dr. Braithwaite, I am certain that I would not find myself pursuing my dream of representing this country’s international development efforts around the world. He didn’t just support me as I reached this goal; he helped provide me with opportunities for learning, research, and growth that allowed me to find what my dream was in the first place.”

In their letter, Braithwaite’s four faculty nominators commended his engagement and commitment to students. 

“Professor Braithwaite has devoted himself to undergraduate education, and his instructional excellence is reflected in student evaluations,” the letter stated. “He is committed to the highest standards of teaching, and for him, that includes curriculum innovation … and high-impact undergraduate research experiences. Professor Braithwaite cares deeply about the University of Arizona, and he invests in sustaining it.” 

University Distinguished Outreach Faculty Award

Recognizes faculty who have made outstanding contributions to outreach at the University of Arizona, in the State of Arizona, the nation, and the world.

Josephine “Jo” Korchmaros
Director and Research Social Scientist, Southwest Institute for Research on Women (SIROW)

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Jo Korchmaros is the director of the Southwest Institute for Research on Women and specializes in quantitative research methods, leading and supporting numerous grant-funded projects focused on underserved populations, including racial and sexual minorities, women and girls, and Native American communities. Her work addresses treatment models, risk behavior reduction, health disparities related to culture and gender, and system and policy improvements in areas such as sexual health, substance use, and justice.

“From the outset of her appointment as director in 2017, Dr. Korchmaros has demonstrated a remarkable capacity for visionary leadership, sustainability and strategic planning. She has skillfully navigated complex university challenges while inspiring faculty and students alike to pursue excellence in research, teaching, and community engagement. Her ability to articulate a clear and compelling vision has rallied the department around common goals, fostering a sense of shared purpose and motivation,” wrote faculty nominators Claudia Powell, Corrie Brinley, Kevin Fitzsimmons, and Jane Zavisca.

In her role as director, Korchmaros has made a profound impact by strengthening trust and collaboration both within the university and with external partners. She has built partnerships with U of A colleges and departments, schools, government agencies, law enforcement, Tribal communities, and community-based service providers. Her strategic leadership has led to 50 active research projects, the hiring of three advanced researchers through extramural funding, and collaboration with principal investigators to help secure over $60 million in grants.

In her letter of recommendation, College of SBS Dean Lori Poloni-Staudinger called Korchmaros a "compassionate and effective leader, trusted by her staff, faculty, and other colleagues” whose efforts "have transformed and elevated SIROW, making an exemplary long-lasting and wide-reaching positive contribution to the University of Arizona’s research, teaching, and land-grant missions.”

University Faculty Service Award

Recognizes faculty who have made exceptional contributions to our service mission, within their department or college, across campus, or in their scholarly community around the world.

Amy Kimme Hea 
Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Student Success, College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, and Professor, Department of English

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Amy Kimme Hea is the senior associate dean for academic affairs and student success and professor in the Department of English in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences. Under her leadership, the College of SBS has seen an increase in student diversity, with underserved student enrollment growing by over 15% and international student enrollment rising by more than a third.

Kimme Hea’s work focuses on initiatives that enhance engagement and access for diverse student populations. She is recognized for her transformative leadership in student success, her innovative program development that bridges university and community, and unwavering commitment to staff growth and institutional collaboration. Kimme Hea’s service-driven approach has made a lasting impact across the university, advancing equity, inclusion, and academic excellence.

In their letter of nomination, faculty representing several units across the university praised Kimme Hea as a “thought leader and major contributor” in various areas of service, including student engagement and success, assessment, inclusion work, and leadership and strategic planning.  

“Dr. Kimme Hea has over and over contributed extensively to our university community and beyond,” the letter stated. “Her service work has run deep at the university, college and departmental levels and well beyond the university, including the community in her discipline.”

“Amy Kimme Hea’s dedication to creating positive experiences for students, staff, and faculty through her service work is exceptional,” wrote SBS Dean Lori Poloni-Staudinger in her letter of support. “Her ability to nurture talent and foster a sense of belonging is a testament to her inclusive, empathetic, and service-oriented leadership."

Distinguished Scholar Award

Granted to outstanding recently tenured and mid-career faculty who are making transformative contributions to their disciplines and to our University’s teaching, research, and outreach priorities.

Michelle Téllez, Associate Professor, Department of Mexican American Studies

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Michelle Téllez is an associate professor and director of graduate studies in the Department of Mexican American Studies, whose research explores globalization and the reification of borders as it relates to women’s migration, worker movements, border communities, human rights, and transnational organizing. 

“Dr. Téllez is a ground-breaking scholar who is dedicated to ensuring that her research not only pushes the boundaries of her discipline but also directly impacts the lives of the transnational Mexican and Indigenous communities that she studies,” wrote Russ Toomey, professor in the School of Human Ecology and one of Téllez’ five cross-university nominators. “Her remarkable scholarly contributions, particularly her consistent engagement with public scholarship, have helped people in Mexican and Indigenous communities see themselves reflected in the work of the academy, which is so often isolating and exclusionary, particularly to marginalized communities.”

Téllez has been recognized for her groundbreaking contributions to Chicana feminist ethnography and border studies. Named Researcher of the Year by the Women’s Foundation of the State of Arizona in 2023, her award-winning book, Border Women and the Community of Maclovio Rojas: Autonomy in the Spaces of Neoliberal Neglect, received the National Association of Chicana/Chicano Studies Book of the Year Award that same year. 

Téllez developed the foundational concept of Chicana feminist ethnography in 2005 and has secured major research funding, including two $310,000 Mellon Foundation grants for digital archive projects documenting Afro-Chicanx communities and Mexican/Chicana activism. Her expertise has led to international invitations to speak on migration, mothering, border communities, and gender-based violence.

“Not only is she an exceptional scholar, educator, and community activist, as a first-generation Latina from the borderlands, she is also an excellent role model for our students, many of whom come from similar backgrounds,” wrote nominator Melissa Fitch, Distinguished Professor of Spanish and Portuguese in the College of Humanities. “The impact of her work and example … is incalculable.”

Early Career Scholar Award

Recognizes outstanding early career faculty who are at the forefront of their disciplines and make highly valued contributions to the teaching, creative activity, and service priorities set out in the University's Strategic Plan.

Elizabeth “Beth” Tellman
Assistant Professor, School of Geography, Development and Environment

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Beth Tellman, an assistant professor in the School of Geography, Development & Environment, studies how global environmental change affects people, particularly in areas such as water access, flood risk, and land use. She utilizes satellite data and artificial intelligence to uncover patterns and inform solutions that address environmental challenges. Tellman is also a co-founder and Chief Science Officer of Floodbase — a public benefit corporation that leverages remote sensing to build flood monitoring and mapping systems for countries and parametric insurance products.

“Her lab uses data to advantage individuals from marginalized backgrounds and does this while partnering with businesses, communities, as well as governments. This community engagement is a hallmark of Dr. Tellman’s work and closely maps with the university’s land grant mission,” wrote SBS Dean Lori Poloni-Staudinger in her letter of support.

Tellman’s Social[Pixel] Lab has been awarded more than $5.8 million in external grants from public institutions such as NASA and from private foundations such as the Gates Foundation. In addition to these grants, she was recently awarded an National Science Foundation CAREER grant for Addressing Flood Justice and Equity Impacts of Adaptation and Urban Expansion with Satellite Observations.

In their letter of nomination, the faculty of the School of Geography, Development & Environment praised Tellman for her unwavering commitment to advancing the frontiers of discovery.

“Dr. Beth Tellman is an extraordinary early-career scholar at the University of Arizona. She is engaging in cutting-edge research that is transforming scholarly debates internationally and that is already having a direct and positive impact on society in Arizona and globally. In the process, she has developed collaborative relationships with communities and organizations in the U.S. Southwest and internationally, and she is training a new generation of scholars to expand on her cutting-edge research agenda.”

Gerald J. Swanson Prize for Teaching Excellence

Created through a gift from the Thomas R. Brown Foundation in honor of Professor Emeritus Gerald J. Swanson, this award recognizes excellence in undergraduate teaching.

Katie Hemphill, Associate Professor, Department of History

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“An associate professor in the Department of History, Katie Hemphill is an exceptional undergraduate instructor and exemplifies the ideal professor not just through her teaching excellence in the classroom but also for her mentoring, curricular leadership, and compassionate care for students,” wrote SBS Dean Lori Poloni-Staudinger in the nominating letter. “Her accomplishments in the classroom, her mentorship, and her leadership reflect the highest standards of teaching excellence.”

In 2024, Hemphill, who is also the director of undergraduate studies, received the College of SBS Teaching Innovation Award, and her courses, like those of Gerald J. Swanson, are popular — each semester, Hemphill’s classes fill quickly and to capacity. 

Hemphill cares deeply about undergraduate success, devoting her time and energy to her courses and beyond. She serves as a faculty advisor for the undergraduate History Club, supervises honors contracts, teaches semester-long independent study courses, and oversees preceptorships. She also helps guide students through career planning. This year, two former students she continued to mentor completed their Ph.D.s and secured academic positions.

One student noted Hemphill’s unique lecture style: “She doesn’t lecture from a podium — she walks through the class, engaging individual students and valuing every response. Her redirections, when needed, are always thoughtful and non-judgmental.”