The Distinguished Graduate Faculty Lecture recognizes a faculty member who has made significant contributions to graduate education at Auburn University. The lecture is jointly sponsored by the Graduate School and the Auburn Alumni Association, which generously provides a $2,000 award to the recipient.  Since the 1975-76 academic year, the award has fostered a better understanding of the significant scholarly contributions made by Auburn University’s faculty.

Departments may nominate one faculty member annually for the Distinguished Graduate Faculty Lecturer. Each nomination should include a full curriculum vitae containing detailed information on the nominee’s research or other creative endeavors. A statement should be attached summarizing the nominee’s work and assessing the significance of the work as it relates to graduate education on our campus.

Finally, a minimum of three letters of support should be included that document the impact that the nominee has had on their field and on graduate education at Auburn. Every attempt should be made to include all appropriate information, as only complete packets will be considered.

Faculty members who have been nominated previously will be considered only if a new nomination is submitted. In such cases, materials submitted with the earlier nominations should be updated.

The Graduate School is accepting nominations for the 2025 Distinguished Graduate Faculty Lecturership. The lecturer will receive a $2,000 award from the Auburn Alumni Association and a certificate commemorating the lectureship. 

All departmental nominations should be submitted online no later than 4:45 p.m. Friday, September 19, 2025. Only complete nomination packets will be considered. 

Submit Nomination

Past Recipients

Year

Name

Department

1975-76

Malcolm McMillan

History

1976-77

Martial A. Honnell

Electrical Engineering

1977-78

Donald E. Davis

Plant Pathology & Microbiology

1978-79

Benjamin F. Hoerlein

Small Animal Surgery & Medicine

1979-80

Madison P. Jones

English

1980-81

Carl S. Hoveland

Agronomy & Soils

1981-82

Sidney D. Beckett

Physiology & Pharmacology

1982-83

Robert R. Rea

History

1983-84

Paul Melius

Chemistry

1984-85

Charles L. Phillips

Electrical Engineering

1985-86

Richard W. Redding

Physiology & Pharmacology

1985-86

Paul D. Hill

Mathematics & Statistics

1986-87

Fred J. Molz

Civil Engineering

1987-88

David A. Roland

Poultry Science

1988-89

Rodrigo Rodriguez-Kabana

Plant Pathology

1989-90

Charles C. Lindner

Mathematics & Statistics

1990-91

Leonard L. Grigsby

Electrical Engineering

1991-92

J. Wayne Flynt

History

1992-93

Dale L. Huffman

Animal & Dairy Sciences

1993-94

C. Randall Clark

Pharmacal Sciences

1994-95

Ram C. Purohit

Large Animal Surgery & Medicine

1995-96

Richard C. Jaeger

Electrical Engineering

1996-97

Chris Rodger

Discrete & Statistical Sciences

1997-98

L. Bruce Gladden

Health & Human Performance

1998-99

W. David Lewis

History

1999-00

David B. South

Forestry & Wildlife Sciences

2000-01

Daniel Szechi

History

2001-02

Krystyna Kuperberg

Mathematics

2002-03

Jitendra K. Tugnait

Electrical and Computer Engineering

2003-04

Jacquelyn Mize

Human Development and Family Studies

2004-05

Vitaly Vodyanoy

Anatomy, Physiology & Pharmacology

2005-06

Olav Kallenberg

Mathematics & Statistics

2006-07

Ram B. Gupta

Chemical Engineering

2007-08

Bernhard Kaltenboeck

Pathobiology

2008-09

Kim Walls

Curriculum & Teaching

2009-10

Malcolm J. Crocker

Mechanical Engineering

2010-11

Chris Newland

Psychology

2011-12

Gary Gruenhage

Mathematics & Statistics

2012-13

S. D. Worley

Chemistry & Biochemistry

2014-15*

Paula Backscheider

English

2015-16

Barry Burkhart

Psychology

2016-17

Stewart Schneller

Chemistry & Biochemistry

2017-18

Henry Kinnucan

Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology

2018-19

Rex Dunham

Fisheries, Aquaculture and Aquatic Sciences

2019-20

Russell Muntifering

Animal Sciences

2020-21

Jeffrey Suhling

Mechanical Engineering

2022-23

Nancy Barry

Curriculum & Teaching

2023-24

Frank “Skip” Bartol

Anatomy, Physiology & Pharmacology

2024-25

Nima Shamsaei

Mechanical Engineering

 

* In 2008, the Distinguished Graduate Faculty Lecture was moved from the spring to the fall. To more accurately reflect the timing of the lecture, the numbering sequence skipped ahead one year following the 2012-13 lecture. While the award is presented in fall, the lecture typically occurs in the following spring semester.