Congratulations to our award-winning faculty and staff!
April 26, 2023
We’re proud to share that Dr. Simona Bertacco, Dr. Hilaria Cruz, and Joshua Boydstun have all won awards in recognition of their contributions to the College of Arts & Sciences, the University of Louisville, and the wider community! Below are photos of our award winners, as well as excerpts from the nomination letters that explain why they are so deserving of these honors.
Dr. Simona Bertacco
Presidential Distinguished Faculty Award for Outstanding Scholarship, Research, and Creative Activity in the Humanities
Professor Bertacco is a gifted, productive scholar, who is also deeply committed to the University. She’s a professional. I can think of no one more deserving of being recognized for distinction in outstanding scholarship, research, and creative activity. Prof. Bertacco has already conducted considerable preliminary research on her topic as well as publishing a series of essays based on papers she has given at various conferences. Given her considerable academic accomplishments and her highly engaged research and publication record, this recognition would further spur her work and bring it to a fruition by way of a book in the spring of 2023. Her work in Caribbean literary production will be a highly significant contribution to postcolonial, indeed world literature.
A&S Distinguished Faculty Award in Research in the Arts and Humanities
Prof. Bertacco’s long-term research on the Caribbean entitled “Reading Lessons from the Caribbean” is part of her larger interest in the complex workings of postcolonial literature. As she states in her proposal, the stakes cannot be higher. Reading Caribbean literature with a postcolonial lens allows us to expand our experience and understanding of non-Western—and increasingly, Western—literature.
A&S Award for Outstanding Director of Graduate Studies
Although Dr. Bertacco possesses excellent organizational skills and is gifted when it comes to questions of curricular development, many of her accomplishments as DGS are due to her extraordinary abilities to work collaboratively and transparently. Colleagues and students trust her and admire her professional approach to her work. She does not seek the limelight but focuses on results and foregrounds the questions: what would make the experience of our graduate students better and the quality of our program better?
Dr. Hilaria Cruz
Office of Community Engagement’s Outstanding Community Engagement Award (Faculty)
Dr. Hilaria Cruz grew up speaking Chatino, a language for which there was no writing system. She was forced to learn Spanish in school. However, as a PhD student, working with two others, she co-developed a writing system for Chatino. Since then, Dr. Cruz has devoted her professional life to promoting literacy in Chatino. The Chatino Tonal Books Project is one way she has worked to achieve this goal. With her students, both undergraduate and graduate, she has written and published 19 children’s books.
Joshua Boydstun
A&S Diversity Champion Award (Staff)
Josh is extremely conscientious, meticulous, and thorough in every aspect of his work, and he brings these qualities to DEI considerations in ways that make the College a more welcoming workplace.
A&S Outstanding Performance Award
Josh has been an extremely valuable member of the administrative team in A&S at both the department and college level, where he has dedicated an enormous amount of time and energy towards the well-being of the administration, faculty, and students of A&S. He goes above and beyond his job description every day and has exhibited a steadfast commitment to the students of A&S and his university colleagues (both faculty and staff). He takes the time and goes out of his way to be helpful to his colleagues while being unfailingly courteous. He extends the same courtesy to students who come to our office.
