Graduate College Awards Recipients

Alexander Tawiah, who earned a Master of Arts with a Major in Mass Communication, is the recipient of the Graduate College’s Outstanding Master’s Thesis Award in the Social Sciences, Education, and Business. His thesis, Social Media Campaign Strategies: A Case Study of Political Issue Framing by Presidential Candidates in Ghana, was directed by Dr. Cindy Royal, Professor and Regents’ Teacher in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Jackson F. Burkholder, who earned a Master of Science in Biology, is the recipient of the Graduate College’s Outstanding Master’s Thesis Award in the Life and Biological Sciences. His thesis, Comparative Anatomy of Extrafloral Nectaries in the Cactus Family (Cactaceae), was directed by Dr. David Lemke, Professor and Regents’ Teacher in the Department of Biology.

Emma Bayless, who earned an MFA with a Major in Theatre, is the recipient of the 2025-2026 Graduate College’s Outstanding Non-traditional Thesis / Project Award. Her scenic design for Thornton Wilder’s Our Town was mentored by Cheri Prough DeVol, Professor in the School of Theatre, Dance, and Film.

Dr. Adam Clark, who earned his Ph.D. in Geography, won The Graduate College’s 2025-2026 Outstanding Dissertation Award in the Humanities and Fine Arts. His dissertation, The Role of Cartography and Visualization in Hazard Risk Communication: An Examination of the Houston Chronicle, 1945 to 2020, was directed by Ron Hagelman, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies.

Dr. Mar Moretta-Urdiales, who earned her Ph.D. in Aquatic Resources and Integrative Biology, won The Graduate College’s 2025-2026 Outstanding Dissertation Award in the Biological and Life Sciences. Her dissertation, Host-pathogen dynamics of the amphibian-killing fungus in mainland Ecuador, was directed by David Rodriguez, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Biology.

Dr. Anthony Torres, Professor in the Department of Engineering Technology, is the recipient of The Graduate College Outstanding Mentor Award. This award recognizes a faculty member who has had extraordinary success in mentoring graduate students. As part of the nomination, Dr. Torres’s colleagues and former students submitted very thoughtfully written letters which described in detail the tremendous positive impact of Dr. Torres’s mentorship on his students’ careers.

Dr. Paula Williamson, a faculty member in Biology and a former associate dean in The Graduate College, is the 2016–2017 recipient of the regional CSGS Outstanding Contributions to Graduate Education in the Southern Region Award. She received the award for her excellent contributions to graduate education at Texas State and at the regional and national levels.

Distinguished Texas State Biology Graduate Alumnus (1966), Dr. Kenneth Wilson, received the 2013 Distinguished Alumnus Award on October 25, 2013 at the Distinguished Alumni Awards Gala organized by the TXST Alumni Association. Wilson has worked both in the biotechnology industry and taught at universities such as the Royal University of Phnom Penh in Cambodia. The Wilsons have established the Wilson International Exchange Scholarship through the Center for International Studies at TXST. The scholarship allows faculty and students to carry out collaborative research and teaching in Cambodia and other parts of the world.