2023 Carroll University Faculty Awards Announced

Author: Carroll University

Published Date: 5/5/2023

Categories: Faculty and Staff University News

Carroll University is proud to announce the recipients of the 2023 faculty awards, which recognizes outstanding faculty who have made significant contributions in the areas of teaching, scholarship, innovation, and student support.

These annual awards include the Alliher Award for teaching excellence; the Richason Award for excellence in teaching, research and educational innovation; and the Outstanding Faculty Advisor Award. Honorees will be recognized during commencement ceremonies on Friday, May 12^th and Saturday, May 13^th.

Allhiser Award: Michael Mortensen

Michael Mortensen, director of Carroll’s aviation science program and clinical associate professor of graphic design and interactive arts, is the recipient of the 2023 Alliher Award for Teaching Excellence. This award was established in 1986 through a fund established by Norman and Louise Allhiser to recognize exceptional instruction by a member of the Carroll faculty.

Mortensen, who joined Carroll in 2008, is an accomplished programmer, remote sensing systems designer, multimedia designer, creative director, Part 107 certified unmanned aircraft pilot and cinematographer. He earned his master’s degree in aerospace architecture at the University of Houston, where he was selected as a research assistant for the Manned Mars NASA team at Johnson Space Center. Mortensen also serves as the lead Unmanned Aircraft Systems safety representative for the FAA safety team.

Mortensen has extensive Unmanned Aircraft Systems experience with law enforcement agencies, including search and recoveries, hostage rescue training, unmanned aircraft systems, forensics, emergency responders, and surveillance detection. As a member of the Homeland Security Information Network (HSIN), he is trusted with sensitive but unclassified information between federal, state, local, territorial, tribal, international and private sector partners.

In addition, Mortensen leads Carroll’s annual high school drone competition, Aerospace Jam, serves as a technical co-chair for the SkillsUSA Wisconsin regional drone competition, and serves as the instructor for the Carroll drone racing team.

Richason Award: Dr. Kimberly White

Dr. Kimberly White, professor of education, is the recipient of the 2023 Richason Award, a memorial award established in honor of Professor Ben Richason that recognizes excellence in teaching, research and educational innovation.

White has been a member of the Carroll Community since 2009. She has a Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction from the University of Wisconsin- Madison, an M.Ed. in elementary and middle school education from The Ohio State University, and a B.S.B.A. in business marketing from The Ohio State University.

She serves as the director of Carroll’s Critical Digital Pedagogy Project, which is contributing important research to the field of education and impacting faculty practice on campus. She was awarded a highly competitive three-year National Science Foundation Grant (IUSE) to support this work, which identifies and integrates critical digital pedagogy methods that prepare pre-service teachers to teach inquiry-based STEM education effectively in online learning environments.

Over the years, she has consistently presented her work at prestigious conferences, including the American Educational Research Association Annual Conference, the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education Annual Meeting, and the American Teacher Education Annual Conference. She has written manuscripts with students, partner teachers, and colleagues, and has served as a scholarly mentor for many junior faculty.

Faculty Advisor: RoseAnn Donovan

RoseAnn Donovan, associate clinical professor of education, is the recipient of the 2023 Faculty Advisor Award, which recognizes an individual that has made an exemplary contribution to academic advising at the undergraduate level.

Before arriving at Carroll, Donovan spent 20 years teaching reading, language arts and social studies in Wauwatosa and Elmbrook district middle schools, experiences that have undoubtedly enabled her to more closely connect with her students at Carroll, where she is considered the face of the Education Department. Her colleagues maintain that her nickname, RAD, is only in part due to her initials and that it truly describes her energy, enthusiasm, and compassion for her students. She serves as the director of the National Writing Project at Carroll, one of numerous ways she provides service to Carroll and to her profession.

Donovan received her master’s in education in teacher leadership from Silver Lake College and a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from the University of Wisconsin. Her enthusiastic and animated personality served her well at UW, where she made history as the first female Bucky Badger mascot.

Carroll University
Carroll University was incorporated in 1846, making it Wisconsin’s first four-year institution of higher learning. Situated in Waukesha, the independent, co-educational comprehensive university is grounded in the liberal arts tradition, and offers more than 95 areas of study, multiple graduate programs and a clinical doctorate in physical therapy. For more information, visit www.carrollu.edu, and follow us on Twitter and Facebook.