Presidential Award Winners 2022
Presidential Awards for Excellence in Teaching
Professor/Associate Professor
Catherine Cherrstrom
Department of Organization, Workforce, and Leadership Studies
Dr. Cathy Cherrstrom, Associate Professor in the Department of Organization, Workforce, and Leadership Studies, joined Texas State University in 2015, after earning her doctoral degree from Texas A&M University. Prior to that time, Dr. Cherrstrom strategically led teams and consulted with businesses, institutions, and non-profits in the financial services industry for over 20 years. That experience she now brings to the classroom. Peers have recognized her work through the Malcolm Knowles Award for Outstanding Adult Education Program Leadership from the American Association for Adult and Continuing Education, the Adult Learner Impact Award from the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning, and the Early Career Award from the Commission for Professors of Adult Education. An expert in adult learning, Dr. Cherrstrom works with students in the BAAS degree completion program as well as the MAIS/MSIS and M.Ed. programs. Her research agenda focuses on adult development and transition in the workplace and higher education.
Assistant Professor
Joshua H. Miller
Department of Communication Studies/h3>
Dr. Joshua Miller is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Studies at Texas State University. He earned his doctorate in Communication Studies with a certificate in rhetorical leadership from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He has a passion for teaching classes that pertain to public advocacy, social movements, democratic deliberation, and social justice. Specifically, he teaches public speaking, political communication, rhetorical research methods, LGBTQ+ rhetoric and advocacy, race and memory, and rhetoric of diversity. His research focuses on how historically excluded people advocate for inclusion and social change. He has published scholarship on the 1960s Civil Rights Movement, LGBTQ+ Christian advocacy, and political communication. His work appears in journals such as Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies, Southern Communication Journal, Women’s Studies in Communication, Women & Language, and Communication Quarterly. He serves as the advisor to the Communication Studies Graduate Association, which provides students with professional development and community service opportunities.
Senior Lecturer/Lecturer
Jon Zmikly
School of Journalism and Mass Communication
Jon Zmikly is a senior lecturer in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Texas State University. He is also the Assistant Director for the school's Media Innovation Lab in Old Main. He teaches digital fundamentals, web design, advanced coding, virtual reality, and other courses focused related to innovations in digital media. He also works with a team of students to create and strategize social media and editorial content for the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, as well as manages the school’s website. Zmikly earned a bachelor's degree from Central Michigan University in 2006 where he studied Broadcast and Cinematic Arts. After working at some local television and radio stations, he traveled to Texas to begin a master’s degree in Media Studies at Texas State University. He graduated with a Master of Arts in 2009 and has since continued teaching at Texas State University, as well as become an associate pastor and media director for his local church, San Marcos Community Church.
Presidential Awards for Excellence in Scholarly/Creative Activities
Assistant Professor/Lecturer
Ryan Anderson
Department of Agricultural Sciences
Dr. Ryan Anderson, an assistant professor in the Department of Agricultural Sciences, joined the faculty at Texas State University in the fall of 2019. He earned his doctoral degree in Career and Technical Education with an emphasis in Agricultural Education from Virginia Tech in 2007. Dr. Anderson’s research focuses on the teaching and learning of agricultural mechanics in educational settings. He has been a co-principal or principal investigator on 13 grants totaling approximately $1,420,000. Since 2019, he has published one textbook, 21 journal articles, with two more in-press, and 11 in review. He has also presented 27 conference papers and 22 research posters. He has received 14 awards for outstanding research including the North American College Teachers of Agriculture Journal article of the year in 2020, the agricultural mechanics blue ribbon outstanding paper in 2021 and 2022, and the agricultural mechanics blue ribbon outstanding poster in 2021 and 2022 as well. Dr. Anderson currently is a mentor for several students who are completing undergraduate and graduate research projects.
Artist in Residence
Craig Hella Johnson
School of Music
In Fall 2012, Craig Hella Johnson became the first Artist-in-Residence at The Texas State University School of Music. Renowned as one of today’s most influential voices in choral conducting, Johnson brings unparalleled depth of knowledge, artistic sensitivity, and rich imagination to his programs. He is the founding artistic director and conductor of Conspirare and music director of Cincinnati’s Vocal Arts Ensemble. Johnson is in frequent demand as a guest conductor of choral and orchestral works. He is a published composer and arranger, guest conductor, and educator. Johnson’s first concert-length composition Considering Matthew Shepard was premiered and recorded by Conspirare for a 2016 CD release. Johnson’s accomplishments have been recognized with numerous awards and honors. Notably among them, he and Conspirare won a 2014 Grammy® for Best Choral Performance, Chorus America awarded him the Michael Korn Founders Award for Development of the Professional Choral Art in 2015, the Texas State Legislature named him Texas State Musician for 2013, and in 2021 the Matthew Shepard Foundation recognized him with the Dennis Dougherty Award for Community Leadership.
Presidential Awards for Excellence in Service
Professor/Associate Professor
Barbara Hewitt
Department of Health Information Management
Barbara Hewitt, an associate professor in the Department of Health Information Management. She received her Ph.D. in Information Technology and her B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Texas at San Antonio and a Master of Business Administration from Texas State University. She teaches Health Information Security, Project Management, and Health Information Technology and serves as the graduate clinical coordinator for the Master’s in Health Information Management (HIM) program at Texas State. Her research focuses on computer security and healthcare. Hewitt spends many hours each year sharing her passion for computing through events held by San Antonio Women in Technology, a non-profit she founded in 2010. The organization recognizes high school students for their achievements in computing at the San Antonio Area Aspiration Award Ceremony and assists university students as they transition to their new professional career by hosting the San Antonio University Women in Technology Symposium.
Assistant Professor/Senior Lecturer/Lecturer
Vlasta Silhavy
Department of Theatre and Dance
Vlasta Silhavy, a senior lecturer in the Department of Theatre and Dance, joined the faculty at Texas State University in 2015. She serves as the head of the B.F.A. Theatre certification program and faculty advisor for all theatre education majors. Each summer Ms. Silhavy coordinates Texas State’s theatre camps for high schoolers and elementary-age children. Both camps specifically focus on providing high quality fine arts opportunities with an emphasis on underserved student populations. In 2017, she received grant funding to pilot L.E.A.P., a girls’ leadership, empowerment, and arts program, for at-risk young women. Ms. Silhavy currently serves as a member of the Equity, Inclusion and Diversity committee. Professionally, Ms. Silhavy cultivates partnerships with school districts and local theatres across the state, where she teaches workshops, writes educational grants, and helps to implement creative drama into the K-12 curriculum.
Presidential Seminar Award
Hiro Lee Tanaka
Department of Mathematics
Hiro Lee Tanaka is an assistant professor in the Department of Mathematics. After receiving his Ph.D. from Northwestern University and completing postdoctoral work at Harvard University, he conducted research at the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute in Berkeley, California, and at the Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences in Cambridge, England. His research aims to fuse the higher structures in modern algebra with geometries emerging from both classical mechanics and supersymmetric field theories. He has gained visibility both for his scholarship and for his efforts to create more equitable and supportive environments throughout the mathematics community.