Excellence Awards honor 8 outstanding faculty, staff members

Eight faculty and staff members received Excellence Awards at the close of the 2024-25 academic year, announced at the spring University Meeting on May 9. Awards recognized outstanding teaching, scholarship, and service.  

This year’s Distinguished Professor Award went to Peter Bachiochi, professor of psychological science for more than 20 years. Bachiochi has served the Department of Psychological Science as associate chair, chair, and program coordinator. He helped develop and lead the industrial-organizational psychology concentration within the psychology major.

As the campus advisor of the University’s Habitat for Humanity chapter, Bachiochi has immersed generations of students in many local projects serving the Windham community and has led dozens of students on spring break trips to build homes across the nation.  

“It’s not just teaching; it’s teaching, mentoring, and advising,” said Bachiochi of his role at Eastern. “Getting recognized for that is always nice. … When it’s an award from your peers, it means that much more.”

This year’s Excellence in Teaching Awards, presented annually to one full-time and one part-time faculty member, went to mathematical sciences Professor Kim Ward and world languages/cultures Lecturer Magdalena Parera.

“It’s heartwarming to know there is an appreciation of my strong affinity for promoting the academic success of students in higher education and the acquisition of life-long learning skills,” said Ward.

Parera added, "I am deeply honored to receive this award, especially because of the support of my colleagues and my wonderful students who make this work so worthwhile."

This year’s Excellence in Creative/Scholarly Activity Award went to business administration Professor Fatma Pakdil. She is an accomplished scholar in quality management and control and has published two books on management leadership and business process improvement.

“Building a high-quality research portfolio is a long-term commitment for any academician,” said Pakdil. “Receiving this award is a meaningful recognition of the effort, focus, and dedication I’ve invested in advancing research within my discipline.”

Four were recognized for Excellence in Service to the University: sociology Professor Nicolas Simon, business administration Professor Suki Grandhi, opportunity programs Director Christina Irizarry, and environmental earth sciences and physical sciences Secretary II Zosia Carlquist.

Simon is a major proponent of open educational resources (OERs), presenting at international conferences on OERs and working to expand their presence throughout Connecticut and the Northeast. He was “deeply honored” to be recognized by the University for his service.

“What moved me even more was reading the kind words written by students about my commitment to protecting their rights as consumers and their freedom of not being enrolled, without their prior consent, in any kind of automatic textbook billing policies,” he said.

Grandhi has helped spearhead Eastern’s graduate program in management, which began in spring 2024, serving as program coordinator. “Service is something every faculty member contributes to in their own way, alongside their teaching and research commitments,” she said.

“I feel truly honored and grateful that the committee chose to recognize me,” she continued.

Irizarry views her recognition as reinforcement for her efforts. “This recognition reflects the collective effort and passion poured into advancing equity and fostering a sense of belonging across our campus community,” she said.