Since 1961, the Arkansas Alumni Association has proudly recognized the exemplary achievements of University of Arkansas faculty through the Arkansas Alumni Association Distinguished Faculty Achievement Awards among three categories of accomplishment: teaching, research and public service. Additionally, the University of Arkansas honors a faculty member with the Charles and Nadine Baum Faculty Teaching Award.  Each of the honorees received a $5,000 stipend during the fall semester and will be honored in the spring as a part of the association’s Alumni Awards Celebration.

The 2020 honorees are:

  • For achievement in service, the association honors Ro Di Brezzo, university professor in the Department of Health, Human Performance and Recreation in the College of Education and Health Professions.
  • For achievement in research, the awardee is Greg Thoma B.S.Che.’80, M.S.Che.’86, professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering in the College of Engineering.
  • The rising teaching award will be bestowed upon Benjamin Runkle, assistant professor of Biological and Agri Engineering in the College of Engineering

The Baum Faculty Teach Award will be bestowed upon Jeannie Whayne, university professor in the Department of History of the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences.

Ro Di Brezzo

Ro Di Brezzo served as a faculty member at the university for 37 years. During that time, she has served on numerous departmental, college and university committees; been recognized with awards for teaching, research and service; and has held leadership roles within the university’s administration.  The following is just a small sampling of Di Brezzo’s service.

  • Co-founded the Wally Cordes Teaching and Faculty Support Center and acted as its co-director for five years.
  • Served as the president of the Teaching Academy.
  • Chaired the Faculty Senate.
  • Co-director of the Office for Studies on Aging since 1999.

From 2012-2013, Di Brezzo was the vice provost for academic affairs. From 2014-2017, she held the post of vice provost for faculty development and enhancement.  From 2017-2019, she served as the first vice provost for faculty affairs before returning to the faculty as University Professor of exercise science in 2019 and retiring in 2020.

Greg Thoma

Greg Thoma has served on the university faculty since December 1993. His research program has been tremendously productive.  Thoma is at the top of his research field and is influencing the practices of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) modeling for agriculture. In the last five years alone, he has:

  • Published 35 papers.
  • Given more than 30 presentations.
  • Brought in more than $15 million as the principal investigator (PI) co-PI.

Thoma serves on steering boards and technical advisory groups for the  United Nations and national governments. He is currently supervising four graduate students and three post-doctoral fellows.

Benjamin Runkle

Runkle joined the U of A in 2014. He teaches courses in sustainable watershed engineering and modeling environmental biophysics – both senior-level courses in biological engineering.  Runkle has:

  • Been honored with mentoring awards in 2018, 2019 and 2020 from the Provost’s Office and the Office of Nationally Competitive Awards.
  • Mentored 2019 Razorback Classic Laura Gray and 2020 Razorback Classic Eleanor Henson
  • Earned the 2019 Early Achievement in Engineering Education Award from the Biological and Agricultural Engineering Division of ASEE.

He received the CAREER award from the National Science Foundation in 2018 and has been acknowledged with departmental and college teaching and research awards.

Jeannie Whayne

Jeannie Whayne joined the university faculty in 1990 and is a specialist in agricultural and southern history.  Her research focuses on the lower Mississippi River Valley and the interplay of social and economic history with environmental change, agricultural development, and race relations. She has:

  • Received the Fulbright College’s Master Teacher award.
  • Been inducted into the U of A’s Teaching Academy.
  • Served as the Teaching Academy’s president.
  • Served as co-director of the Wally Cordes Teaching and Faculty Support Center.

Whayne is a fellow of the Agricultural History Society and a distinguished lecturer with the Organization of American Historians.