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Mount St. Joseph University
09/02/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 09/02/2026 10:26
Swati Chopra Receives United States Senate Recognition for Faculty Excellence
Senate recognition celebrates Swati Chopra's excellence in teaching, mentorship, and creative leadership
Swati Chopra, Associate Professor of Graphic Design at Mount St. Joseph University, has received the 2026 United States Senate Recognition for Faculty Excellence from Ohio Senator Jon Husted. The recognition marks another meaningful achievement in a year celebrating her work as an educator, mentor, and advocate for student learning.
The recognition follows Professor Chopra's 2026 Faculty Excellence Award from the Strategic Ohio Council for Higher Education (SOCHE) and honors faculty whose leadership and service strengthen higher education in Ohio through teaching, scholarship, mentoring, community engagement, and academic leadership.
At the Mount, Professor Chopra's work centers on helping students grow as designers while building the confidence and professional skills they need beyond the classroom. Throughout the graphic design curriculum, she encourages students to develop strong creative voices, think critically, collaborate thoughtfully, and understand the impact their work can have on others.
One student described that impact in deeply personal terms: "She has helped me believe that I belong not only here at the Mount, but also in the professional world beyond it. That confidence is something I will carry with me long after graduation."
For Professor Chopra, mentorship is about more than helping students complete successful projects. It is also about helping them recognize their own potential. Kylee Adams, a recent Mount graduate, shared, "She encourages us to grow while at the same time making sure that we feel seen, supported, and capable of success."
That philosophy is also at the heart of Design Hub, the faculty-led, student-powered design studio established by Professor Chopra. Through the Hub, students work with real clients on campus, in the community, across the country, and internationally. They gain hands-on experience in branding, communication design, research, collaboration, critique, client communication, and professional practice while seeing their work make an impact beyond a classroom grade.
Professor Chopra is also exploring how emerging technologies can support creativity and learning without replacing the human judgment at the heart of design. Her work with artificial intelligence and design thinking gives students opportunities to experiment, research, question, and create while keeping ethics, reflection, and responsible use central to the process.
A recent MSJ News feature highlighted how that preparation is already carrying into students' professional lives. After accepting a position at Matthew 25, graduating Graphic Design senior Catie Keefer told Professor Chopra, "I wanted to say thank you for exposing us to AI and how to use it in design."
For Professor Chopra, the Senate recognition is especially meaningful because so much of her work begins with students and the possibilities they see for themselves. Whether she is guiding them through a challenging project, encouraging a new idea, or connecting them with professional opportunities, mentorship remains at the center of her teaching.
The recognition celebrates the thoughtful teaching, close mentorship, experiential learning, and creative collaboration that have shaped Professor Chopra's work at the Mount, as well as something harder to measure: the confidence, belonging, and sense of possibility students develop when someone believes in their potential.
Mount St. Joseph University congratulates Professor Swati Chopra on this meaningful recognition and celebrates the care, creativity, and commitment she continues to bring to her students, theDepartment of Creative Arts, and the wider Mount community.
Mount St. Joseph University published this content on September 02, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on September 02, 2026 at 16:26 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]