At the 73rd annual Thunderbird Awards on April 22, Southern Utah University honored faculty, students and staff for their significant contributions to the T-Bird community.
The ceremony included diverse performances by the finalists for the Artist of the Year Award in addition to the presentation of each individual award.
“Our Thunderbird Awards have a rich history at SUU with 73 years of recognizing excellence,” SUU President Mindy Benson said. “[The event] gives us a chance to come together and celebrate our faculty, staff and students in one night.”
The prestigious award ceremony evoked plenty of emotion while showing off some of SUU’s best and brightest. Longtime T-Bird Mitchell Bealer felt especially touched after receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award.
“It means a great deal to me to be up on this stage with all the other amazing people that were honored tonight for their incredible achievements,” Bealer said. “I truly can’t imagine spending a lifetime working anywhere else. Here at SUU, I truly do bleed Thunderbird red.”
The 2023 award winners are listed below:
Carmen Rose Hepworth Award
— Gail Harris
Staff Community and Culture Award
— Adam Wilcock
Student Personality of the Year Award
— Allan Ahanonu
Employee Personality of the Year Award
— Sara Greener
Georgia Beth Thompson Service Award
— Kamarie Dalton
Distinguished Faculty Service Award
— Jacqualine Grant
Staff Mentorship Award
— Karson Rasmussen
Female Athlete of the Year
— Cherita Daugherty
Male Athlete of the Year
— Tevian Jones
Student Commitment to Inclusion and Diversity
— Hector Cedillo Tellez
Staff Commitment to Inclusion and Diversity
— Landry Igiraneza
Distinguished Faculty for Diversity and Inclusion
— Julie McCown
Outstanding Educator for Inclusion & Diversity
— Chirstin Stephens
Sterling R. Church Student Involvement Award
— Candice Riddell
Staff Distinguished Initiative or Activity
— Mike Miller
Distinguished Faculty for Global Engagement Award
— Shalini Kesar
Distinguished Scholarly or Creative Activity Award
— John Belk
— Brianne Kramer
— Sijun Liu
Gerald R. Sherratt Friend of SUU Award
— Tessa Douglas
Outstanding Classified Staff
— Kendall Parry
Outstanding Professional Staff
— Alison Adams
Distinguished Educator Awards
— Nicole Dib
— Crystal Koenig
— Brock Landrum
Outstanding Educator Award
— Gretchen Ellefson
University Department of the Year Award
— Facilities Management
Student Organization of the Year Award
— SUU Animal Ambassadors
Artist of the Year Award
— Anne Turner
Board of Trustees Staff Award of Excellence
— Donna Law
Board of Trustees Faculty Award of Excellence
— Matt Barton
R. Kenneth Benson Award
— Alexa Lord
Lifetime Achievement Award
— Mitch Bealer
The list of finalists and award descriptions can be found here.
Story by Kale Nelson
Photo by Nick Stein
