Jackson State University honored 42 faculty and staff with Excellence Awards on Tuesday, April 15, citing their exemplary work performance at the institution. Faculty were selected from all five colleges and staff awardees represented all areas of the university.
JSU President Carolyn W. Meyers said the university was celebrating individuals “steeped in the pinnacles of teaching, research and service.”
Among those honored were Mark Geil, who was named Teacher of the Year, and Dr. Jerzy Leszczynski, who was named Researcher of the Year.
Geil is an artist who joined the faculty at JSU in 2010. He is an assistant professor of art. Geil received a B.A. from the Evergreen State College in Olympia, Wash., and a Master of Fine Arts in Studio Art with a concentration in Photography from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque.
As an artist, Geil’s work aims to reveal the articulations of power, memory and knowledge in the visual life of contemporary society. His work has been exhibited at galleries and mseums both regionally and nationally.
Leszczynski is a Professor of Chemistry and President’s Distinguished Fellow at JSU. He joined JSU’s faculty in 1990. Leszczynski obtained his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the Technical University of Wroclaw in Wroclaw, Poland. He previously served as the director for the Computational Center for Molecular Structure and Interactions and currently directs the new Interdisciplinary Nanotoxicity CREST Center at JSU.
Leszczynski has served as referee for over 50 journals and has published about 800 refereed papers and over 60 book chapters. He has given over 900 presentations. His papers have been cited more than 15,000 times. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the White House Millennium Award for Teaching and Research Excellence in Mathematics, Science and Engineering, and the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring.