NYU Abu Dhabi Faculty and Staff Recognized for their Outstanding Commitment and Dedication

NYU Abu Dhabi honored several members of the community for their outstanding commitment and dedication to the University’s mission and values.

The NYUAD Faculty Awards honor distinction in teaching, university service, and research. Recipients are emblematic of the values of NYUAD, those who have gone above and beyond in each category.

Selection criteria include achievements that are truly distinctive in each award category and are aligned with the institutional priorities of diversity, equity, and inclusion, global scholarly impact, interdisciplinarity, innovation, and collaboration.

Several members of the NYU Abu Dhabi community were also honored with a NYUAD Service Excellence Award. The awards recognize and celebrate NYUAD administrative, academic, and research staff who demonstrate core institutional values at an exceptional level in the performance of their roles.

The members of the Service Excellence Awards Committee thoughtfully evaluated the nominees based on the following criteria: integrity, respect, customer focus, teamwork, adaptability, diversity, and inclusion. Those who hold managerial positions were also evaluated on mentoring, modeling, and motivating.

"The recipients of the awards have established themselves so deeply within the intricate web of excellence in their respective area that makes up the framework of NYU Abu Dhabi. They are the very core of what NYUAD aims towards and they have made us incredibly proud. It is an immense credit to their drive towards achieving, innovating, inspiring, and accomplishing," said Provost Arlie Petters. 

Here are the winners for each category:

Service Excellence Awards:

  • Thaddeus Stegall, Instructor of Music, Division of Arts and Humanities
  • Emma Lee Baker, Assistant Manager, Administration, Division of Science
  • Ashique Rafi, Program Manager, Graduate Career Advising and Postdoctoral Professional Development, Career Development Center
  • Liria Gjidija, Head of Social Responsibility Initiatives and Global Outreach, Office of Global Education and Outreach
  • Jasmin Ramos, Senior Benefits Specialist, Office of Human Resources
  • Haidee Paterson, Research Instrumentation Specialist 1 - MRI, Office of Research

Faculty Awards:

Transformative Research Award

This award is bestowed on standing faculty members at any stage of their research career for transformative and highly impactful research and creative accomplishments that have been published, performed, or otherwise released to the world in the past three calendar years (2019-2022).

  • John Burt, Associate Professor of Biology, Division of Science
  • Alexis Gambis, Assistant Professor of Film and New Media and Biology, Division of Arts and Humanities and Division of Science

Award for Teaching Excellence

This award recognizes the outstanding contributions to the educational mission of NYUAD. This award is bestowed on standing faculty who demonstrate excellence in liberal arts education, research mentorship, creativity and innovation in teaching.

  • Khulood Kittaneh, Senior Lecturer of Arabic Language, Division of Arts and Humanities
  • Kinga Makovi, Assistant Professor of Social Research and Public Policy, Division of Social Science

Distinguished Service Award

This award is for standing faculty who have a history of exemplary service to the University, whether it be through governance or any other service that advances the mission of NYUAD being an innovative, forward looking and inclusive institution.

  • Youssef Idaghdour, Assistant Professor of Biology, Division of Science
  • Mohammad Qasaimeh, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Bioengineering, Division of Engineering