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Winners of the 2016 faculty Excellence Awards were recently announced during Lee’s May commencement. Dr. Donna Summerlin received the Excellence in Teaching Award, Dr. Daniela Augustine received the Excellence in Scholarship Award, and Mary Dukes was named the recipient of the Excellence in Advising Award.

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Summerlin Receives Excellence in Teaching Award

Dr. Donna Summerlin, professor of English, has been selected as the winner of Lee University’s 2016 Excellence in Teaching Award. Lee President Dr. Paul Conn recognized her for this honor during spring commencement.

The Excellence Awards are the highest honors presented to Lee faculty members and recognize advising, scholarship and teaching. The oldest award and considered to be superior among the three is Excellence in Teaching. The winner of this award is chosen by a special committee which includes representatives of six different academic departments.

“I am deeply honored by this award and grateful that what I do here is valued by others in such a significant way,” said Summerlin. “I am blessed to work with colleagues who value the things I hold dear and to teach students who display a sincere desire to learn and to fulfill God’s purposes in their lives.”

A graduate of Lee’s English program, Summerlin earned her Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, her Master of Education and a Master of Arts at UTC. Her specializations include young adult literature, literary theory, American literature, and ethnic literatures, including Southern and Appalachian literature. Her dissertation focused on the Appalachian woman as an artist in the fiction of six Appalachian woman authors.

In 2003, Summerlin received Lee’s Excellence in Advising Award. She also received fellowships from the Appalachian College Association from 1992-93 and 1993-94.

Summerlin currently leads the cross-cultural trip to New England and previously led one around the Southern United States. She has incorporated community involvement and service learning in her Multi-Ethnic U. S. Literature class in 2011 and in her Young Adult Literature and Introduction to English Studies classes during the 2014-15 and 2015-16 terms.

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Augustine Named Recipient of the Excellence in Scholarship Award

Dr. Daniela C. Augustine, associate professor of theological ethics, has been named as the recipient of Lee University’s 2016 Excellence in Scholarship Award.

The winner of this award is chosen each year by the Faculty Committee on Research and Scholarship. Lee President Dr. Paul Conn officially recognized Augustine for this award during spring commencement earlier this month.

Augustine joined Lee’s full-time faculty in 2010. In addition to her time at Lee, she has also been a guest lecturer, speaker, and presenter at many theological forums and educational institutions such as Charles University located in Prague, Czech Republic, Princeton Theological Seminary, Bangor University located in Wales, United Kingdom, Harvard Divinity School, Wheaton College, and Regent University. Her areas of interest and academic research include theological ethics, public theology, interdisciplinary studies in social transformation, postmodernity, theology of economics and globalization, religion and culture.

Augustine earned her Doctorate of Theology from the University of South Africa, her Master of Divinity from the Church of God Theological Seminary, and her Master of Science and Bachelor of Science from the University of National and World Economy in Bulgaria.

She is the author of many publications including articles in professional journals, chapters in edited books, and two monographs, “At the Crossroads of Social Transformation: An Eastern-European Theological Perspective” and “Pentecost, Hospitality, and Transfiguration: Toward a Spirit-inspired Vision of Social Transformation.” She serves as the Chair of the Christian Ethics Interest Group for the Society for Pentecostal Studies and as an associate editor for the Journal of Pentecostal Theology.

The Excellence in Scholarship Award is one of three faculty excellence awards recognizing teaching, scholarship and advising. They are considered the highest honors bestowed on Lee faculty each year.

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Dukes Receives Excellence in Advising Award

Mary Dukes, senior lecturer in digital media studies, has been named the winner of Lee University’s 2016 Excellence in Advising Award.

The Excellence Awards are the highest honors presented to Lee faculty members. The recipient of the Excellence in Advising Award is chosen by a faculty committee, which reviews a three-year history of student advisor evaluation data as well as other information provided by the nominating department chairs and deans.

“For me, advising is one of the most enjoyable aspects of working with students,” said Dukes. “It provides me the opportunity to spend time with them in a one-on-one setting and truly get to know them–their goals, plans and dreams for the future. I am very grateful for the privilege of working with my students to attain those goals, and I am very honored to be recognized for that interaction.”

Dukes joined the Lee faculty in 1999. She received her Master of Arts in Communication and her Bachelor of Arts as a double major in Radio-Television and Film from the University of Central Florida. She completed additional graduate study in mass communication at the University of Southern Mississippi.

Prior to joining the Lee faculty, Dukes was involved in a diverse professional career in both radio and television broadcasting. Her experiences include work as a radio news director and as a television producer.

Dukes has served as Discipline Coordinator of Digital Media Studies for the past 15 years. In addition to her teaching and administrative responsibilities, she maintains active professional involvement in independent music video and film productions. Dukes also coordinates placing Digital Media students in organizations and corporations in professional internship opportunities.