Faculty & Staff Awards at Alice L. Walton School of Medicine

At Alice L. Walton School of Medicine, faculty and staff members are celebrated annually through the AWSOM Faculty & Staff Awards, which recognize exceptional leadership, professionalism, and service. Teaching award recipients are nominated by AWSOM students and all other awardees are nominated by their colleagues. The final recipients are selected by a committee of faculty and staff members.

Read on for a full description of each award.

Excellence in Teaching Award (Full-time)

This award is presented to a full-time faculty member who demonstrates outstanding dedication to student learning and medical education. The recipient has demonstrated exceptional skill in creating and delivering comprehensive, innovative, and evidence-based educational programs that engage the students.

Excellence in Teaching Award (Part-time)

This award is presented to a part-time, also known as Adjunct, faculty member who demonstrates outstanding dedication to student learning and medical education. The recipient has demonstrated exceptional skill in creating and delivering comprehensive, innovative, and evidence-based educational sessions that engage the students.

Faculty Citizenship Award

This award honors a faculty member who elevates the School’s learning environment through exceptional collegiality, humanism, and mission-driven leadership. This award recognizes an educator who not only upholds the highest standards of professional excellence, but also elevates the entire academic community through empathy, mutual respect, collaboration, and a commitment to community well-being.

Staff Innovation Award

This award recognizes a staff employee who designs and implements creative solutions, processes, or systems that meaningfully enhance our programs or operations. This award honors innovation that improves efficiency, maximizes resources, and delivers measurable value, with consideration given to the originality of the idea, its impact, and its potential for sustainable, long-term improvement.

Staff Citizenship Award

This award recognizes a staff employee who exemplifies exceptional institutional citizenship through meaningful contributions that strengthen both educational excellence and the AWSOM community. Recipients consistently go beyond their core responsibilities to support student learning, advance the mission and vision of AWSOM, and foster a respectful and collaborative environment.

2025-2026 AWSOM Faculty & Staff Award Winners

At the 2025-2025 AWSOM Faculty & Staff Award ceremony, the following six employees received recognition:

• Associate Professor Lori Garman, PhD, received the Excellence in Teaching (Full-time) Award

• Director, Clinical Integration Education and Associate Professor Patrick Brooks, MD, received the Excellence in Teaching (Full-time) Award

• Adjunct Assistant Professor James Barnett, MD, received the Excellence in Teaching (Part-time) Award

• Associate Professor and Interim Anatomy Lab Director Alexis Gillett, DPT, EdD, received the Faculty Citizenship Award

• Sr. Director, Continuous Quality Improvement, Institutional Excellence, and Accreditation Amanda Jacobson, MEd, received the Staff Innovation Award

• Program Coordinator, Clinical Affairs Julisa Cerda, MSEd, received the Staff Citizenship Award