Faculty earn commendations for experiential learning, research, teaching

KOKOMO, Ind. - Indiana University Kokomo faculty members were recognized for teaching, leading experiential and active learning, and research at the campus's annual spring convocation.

Peter Tupa, senior lecturer in mathematics, and Nicholas Baxter, assistant professor of sociology received the Claude Rich Excellence in Teaching Award - the highest honor given for teaching at IU Kokomo. Christina Romero, associate professor of education, earned the experiential and active learning award. Christopher Caruvana, associate professor of mathematics, received the Distinguished Research and Creative Activity Award.

Claude Rich Excellence in Teaching Award

The campus's teaching awards committee noted that Tupa "exemplifies the spirit of this award through effectiveness in the classroom, thoughtful curricular development, pedagogical innovation, and leadership in advancing student success across our campus."

He was further commended for his student-centered philosophy, which is grounded in active learning, collaboration, and an intentional effort to reduce math anxiety; and his impressive curricular work, in which he has developed and taught a wide range of courses, including new offerings in chemistry, calculus, and physics. He has engaged in wide-reaching work as coordinator of the Math Lab, overseeing course content and lab structure for a large number of students across multiple courses and lab sections each semester.

The selection committee applauded Baxter for "the intentional way he designs learning experiences for students at all levels, and the impact his work has on curriculum, high-impact practices, and the broader conversation about teaching in the discipline." He leads a seminar-style, discussion rich classroom in which sociology students learn by doing, including an introductory course that brings first-year students to research through a digital ethnography project. He's created several new course offerings adapted for multiple delivery modes. Students praise is enthusiasm, clear course organization, and creation of space for difficult conversations.

IU Kokomo Experiential and Active Learning Award

Romero received recognition for her digital storytelling in community settings teaching activity, which leads pre-service teachers to create their own digital stories and then complete a trauma-informed training module. They then use these as therapeutic strategies while interacting with residents in a local domestic violence shelter.

The committee described the activity as "an exemplary model that is thoughtfully designed, deeply engaging, and powerfully grounded in real-world community partnerships," adding that it is "innovative and clearly student-centered and engages students squarely in higher order thinking and professional practice as they navigate complex questions of consent, agency, and voice."

Distinguished Research and Creative Activity Award

Caruvana works in the field of topology, an area of pure mathematics, and has developed a corpus of work recognized on the international level. The selection committee noted the 10 peer-reviewed publications he sole-authored or co-authored, two additional manuscripts under editorial review, and his many invited conference presentations. He was also recognized for his contributions to the field, his theoretical innovations in selection game theory, and resolution of a long-standing open problem in the field. He also has been involved in organizing special sessions at conferences, peer reviews of journals, article summaries, and a campus interdisciplinary research project in which he provided expertise in statistics.

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