Chancellor’s Council Announces TTUHSC Award Winners

Texas Tech University System Chancellor Robert Duncan today (Jan. 28) announced the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center recipients of the annual Chancellor’s Council distinguished faculty awards. Recognizing excellence in academics and research, these awards represent the most prestigious honors granted to faculty members throughout the TTU System.

“It is truly exciting to be able to present our dedicated faculty members with these honors,” Duncan said. “In my first months as Chancellor when visiting our campuses, one of the first things I noticed was the strength of our faculty, especially here at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. The accomplishments of our faculty and the impact they leave on our students make them a vital asset to our team.”

Additionally, six faculty members from Texas Tech University, two faculty members from Angelo State University, and four faculty members from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso received the honors for a total of 16 recipients.

Each winner receives a commemorative medallion and a $5,000 award. The Chancellor’s Council raises funds for student scholarships and recruitment, faculty awards and support, and other programs of excellence.

The Distinguished Teaching Awards went to the following individuals:

• Vaughan Lee, Ph.D.

Vaughan Lee is an associate professor in the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock. In 2012, he was appointed the Dr. Bernell Dalley Endowed Professor in Medical Education. Joining the university in 1994, Lee has been course director for Clinically Oriented Anatomy since 2004 and was appointed Assistant Dean for the Basic Science Curriculum in 2013. Recognized for his contributions to education, Lee received the Clinically Oriented Anatomy Teaching Awards in 2005 and 2007, the 2008 President’s Excellence in Teaching Award and the 2008 Dean’s Basic Science Teaching Award. Lee received two bachelor’s degrees and his Ph.D. from the University of South Alabama.

• Wendy Thal, DNP, RN, FNP-C, CEN

Wendy Thal is an associate professor in the School of Nursing at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock, joining the university in 2005. She also is a family nurse practitioner at the Larry Combest Community Health & Wellness Center, a federally qualified center where she provides health care to the medically underserved. An international authority with a career of dedicated nursing education and patient care, Thal was a key player in the development of the school’s global health initiative, traveling to Nicaragua as a faculty mentor for nursing students who provide care to the medically underserved in this developing nation. Thal received her first bachelor’s degree from Texas Tech University, her Master of Science in Nursing from West Texas A&M University and a Doctor of Nursing Practice from the University of Arizona.

The Distinguished Research Awards went to the following individuals:

• Sue Ann Lee, Ph.D.

Sue Ann Lee is an associate professor in the Department of Speech, Language & Hearing Sciences at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. Internationally recognized, Lee’s research focuses on examining speech characteristics in children with and without speech sound disorders and speech therapy efficacy using various technology such as ultrasound and telepractice. Joining the university in 2010, she has received external grants from the National Institutes of Health, the CH Foundation and the South Plains Foundation. Her work has been published in multiple high impact journals such as the Journal of Child Language, Journal of Speech-Language and Hearing Research, International Journal of Bilingualism, and Speech Communication. She currently serves as an editorial board member for two peer-reviewed journals. Lee earned her bachelor’s degree from Ewha Womans University in Seoul, South Korea, her master’s degree from The Ohio State University and her Ph.D. in speech pathology at the University of Texas at Austin.

• Afzal Siddiqui, Ph.D.

Afzal Siddiqui is a Grover E. Murray Professor in the School of Medicine at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock, teaching and conducting research in the Departments of Immunology & Molecular Microbiology, Internal Medicine, and Pathology. He also is the director of the Center for Tropical Medicine & Infectious Diseases working to develop a vaccine for schistosomiasis, which is a disease transferred through contaminated water, having the potential impact on one billion people in developing countries worldwide. Since joining the university in 2000, Siddiqui has received more than $7.4 million in grant funding from prominent organizations such as the National Institutes of Health and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He recently completed the prestigious Fulbright Research & Teaching Award for Southeast Asia, and has professionally trained at the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention and the Harvard School of Public Health. Siddiqui earned a bachelor’s degree and two master’s degrees from Aligarh University in India and his Ph.D. from the University of Western Ontario in Canada.

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