Faculty Accolades: Spring 2026

Pittsburg State University faculty are experts in their disciplines who regularly take part in service, leadership, and creative activity, and often earn state, regional, and national accolades. Through these experiences, they make a difference to their profession, to the university, and to the community.

Among the many recent difference-makers on our campus:

College of Education
Assistant Provost/Associate Professor Mark Diacopoulos

Diacopoulos was honored by Old Dominion University as a Darden Fellow from the Darden College of Education and Professional Studies. Selected from a pool of more than 47,000 alumni, Darden Fellows are recognized for significant contributions to their professional fields and for exemplifying service and excellence in their communities.

Diacopoulos earned both his M.S.Ed. in Secondary Education in his Ph.D in Curriculum and Instruction from Old Dominion University. He began his career teaching high school history in England before continuing his work in Virginia as a middle and high school social studies teacher and soccer coach.

His passion for inquiry-based teaching and educational technology led him into roles as a technology specialist and social studies coordinator while completing his doctoral studies. He later served as a teacher educator in curriculum design and social studies methods and developed a strong research agenda focused on teacher education, technology integration, and educator identity.

Today, Diacopoulos serves as assistant provost at Pitt State, overseeing accreditation, assessment, and program review while continuing to mentor educators and contribute to scholarships in the field.

Mathematics
Professor Cynthia Huffman

Huffman was invited to serve on the Editorial Board of MAA Convergence, an interdisciplinary peer-reviewed journal where history, mathematics, and teaching intersect.

She recently completed six years of service as chief editor of the Mathematical Association of America's Classroom Resource Materials book series. Her continued leadership in mathematics education and scholarship reflects a commitment to advancing teaching and learning in her field at a national level.

Associate Professor Scott Thuong

Thuong was named the 2026 recipient of the Kansas Section of the Mathematical Association of America Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics Award. The honor was presented during the KSMAA annual meeting at Fort Hays State University.

The Mathematical Association of America established the award in 1991 to recognize college and university faculty who have demonstrated exceptional instructional success. As the Kansas honoree, Thuong now is eligible to serve as the KSMAA nominee for the national Deborah and Franklin Tepper Haimo Award for Distinguished Teaching of Mathematics.

Center for READing
Executive Director David Hurford

Literacy specialist Dr. David P. Hurford served as guest editor for a special issue of The Midwest Quarterly dedicated to dyslexia and reading failure.

The issue brings together the work of scholars from across the university, state, and nation and explores a broad range of topics related to dyslexia and the challenges faced by individuals who struggle with reading. The publication includes both empirical research and personal stories, contributing important perspectives to conversations surrounding literacy and reading aid.

Technology and Workforce Learning
Assistant Instructional Professor Derrel Fincher

Fincher presented the paper "Bridging Unevenly Shared Language: An AI- and OCR-Supported Translanguaging Approach for International Teacher Education" at the 2026 international conference of the Society for Information Technology in Teacher Education, held in Philadelphia.

The presentation explored translanguaging-informed assessment approaches designed to support more equitable evaluation practices in international teacher education partnerships where instructors and students may not share full language proficiency. The research examined the use of Google Vision OCR, translation tools, and artificial intelligence systems to help instructors better assess pre-service teacher knowledge across language barriers.

Graphic Communications
Professor Rocky Restivo

Restivo exhibited three photographs in the international "Street Life" exhibition hosted in Athens by the Italian Institute of Education. The exhibition featured photographers from around the world and ran from Jan. 23-31, 2026.

Participating in the international exhibition provided Restivo the opportunity to engage with a global community of visual storytellers and offered new perspectives on street photography and different forms of cultural artistic expression. He plans to bring those experiences back into the classroom at Pitt State.

University Professor Doug Younger

Younger received the PIA MidAmerica Professional Educator of the Year Award at the 2026 PIA MidAmerica GraphEx Awards, one of the region's premier print and graphic communications competitions.

School of Construction
Professor Norman Philipp

Philipp co-developed and delivered a hands-on robotics workshop at the American Society for Engineering Education PreK-12 Engineering Education Conference in Montreal.

The workshop, "Robotics in the Classroom: Hands-On Applications for Engaging K-12 Students," provided educators with practical robotics activities designed to increase student engagement in STEM and strengthen problem-solving and engineering-thinking skills.

Developed through the Adventures in Robotics initiative supported by the Kansas NASA Space Grant Consortium, the workshop expanded Pitt State's STEM outreach efforts by engaging international educators and supporting sustainable K-12 partnerships.

Chemistry
Assistant Professor Mazeyar Parvinzadeh Gashti

Parvinzadeh Gashti was appointed vice chair of the Great Lakes Section of the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists. In addition, Pitt State faculty member Dr. Jody Neef was appointed education chair for the section.

The appointments reflect continued national recognition of Pitt State faculty leadership and expertise in textile chemistry and related fields.

Faculty Excellence Awards

College of Arts & Sciences

Professor Anu Ghosh- Excellence in Service (Biology)
Assistant Professor Jackson Ravindran- Excellence in Research (Mathematics & Physics)
University Professor Rebecca Butler-Excellence in Teaching(Mathematics)

College of Education

Assistant Professor Tristan Ragland - Excellence in Scholarship Award (HHPR)
Assistant Instructional Professor Sandra Cobos Cenobio - Excellence in Service Award (Psychology)
Assistant Instructional Professor Tracy Rampy - Excellence in Teaching Award (TCHLS)
Professor Li-Lin Tseng- Excellence in Teaching (Art)
Assistant Professor Olivia Timmons- Excellence in Creative Activity (Art)

College of Education

Professor Norman Philipp - Excellence in Teaching Award (School of Construction)
Assistant Professor Brian Welch - Excellence in Teaching Award (School of Construction)