UA Little Rock honors 2025 Faculty Excellence Award winners
April 21-27, 2025
By Angelita Faller
The University of Arkansas at Little Rock has recognized Dr. Julien Mirivel, Dr. Lindsay Ruhr, Theresa Beiner, Morgan Leyenberger, and John Cook as the recipients of the 2025 Faculty Excellence Awards, the university’s highest honor for faculty achievement.
Each year, UA Little Rock celebrates faculty members who have made a meaningful impact through their contributions in teaching, research, public service, and social justice.
The Faculty Excellence Awards, established in 1989, have honored outstanding faculty for 35 years. The UA Little Rock Board of Visitors selected the university-wide winners from a pool of 18 faculty members representing their respective colleges and the William H. Bowen School of Law. Each university-level award recipient will receive a $5,000 prize.
Mirivel, professor of applied communication, received the Faculty Excellence Award in Teaching, sponsored by the Bailey Endowment. The teaching award, first established and funded by Dr. Ted and Virginia Bailey, is now funded by the Bailey Endowment through the Arkansas Community Foundation, who continues to honor this legacy through a Centennial Campaign commitment toward supporting teaching excellence.
Ruhr, associate professor of social work and a licensed certified social worker in Arkansas, received the Faculty Excellence Award for Public Service, sponsored by Alfred Williams, co-chair of the Centennial Campaign, in honor of his wife Elaine Eubank. The couple are both proud alumni of UA Little Rock.
Beiner, professor of constitutional law, was awarded the Faculty Excellence Award in Research and Creative Endeavors, sponsored by Renee Golzar and Dr. Jaafer Golzar. Dr. Golzar is a physician practicing in Chicago, a Donaghey Scholar alumni, and was the 2022 Distinguished Alumni honoree of UA Little Rock.
Leyenberger, instructor of social work, was honored with the Faculty Excellence Award for Social Justice, sponsored by alumnus and former Alumni Association President Scott Schuh.
Cook, assistant professor of law, was named the winner of the Rising Faculty Excellence Award, sponsored by Dr. Scott Bowen. Dr. Bowen has a strong connection to the university, as the William H. Bowen School of Law bears his father’s name.
“Our recipients’ unwavering commitment to scholarship, teaching, research, public service, and social justice has significantly enriched both our institution and the wider academic community,” said Provost Ann Bain. “On behalf of the university, I extend heartfelt congratulations to each award recipient and express gratitude for their dedication to excellence.”
Faculty Excellence Award for Teaching
A faculty member at UA Little Rock for 19 years, Mirivel teaches courses such as “Introduction to Communication,” “Communication and Community,” and “Interpersonal Communication.”
“Dr. Mirivel’s teaching is centered on creating transformative experiences for students, both in face-to-face and online classes, empowering them to not only acquire knowledge but also develop the skills and values necessary for personal and professional growth,” his nomination letter states.
Mirivel’s research on positive communication led to the creation of the widely recognized Positive Communication Model and the Positive Communication Network, which serve as foundational elements of many of his courses. This model blends relationship-building with research to foster meaningful interactions.
“I feel very excited and humbled. Mostly, I’m thinking about my colleagues and my department, who make great teaching possible,” Mirivel said. “I truly believe the secret to my success in teaching is my colleagues. I came here 20 years ago, and they are all amazing teachers. Any one of them could have won this award. They supported me this year, and I’m deeply grateful. We have a wonderful environment that encourages growth, creativity, and a shared commitment to caring about students and teaching.”
Faculty Excellence Award for Research
Beiner has been a faculty member at the William H. Bowen School of Law for 30 years, serving as dean from 2018 to 2023. Her research focuses on employment discrimination law, judicial diversity, and civil procedure, earning national and international recognition. Her work has been cited more than 4,790 times on Google Scholar and has been featured in prestigious legal publications.
Beiner’s upcoming publications include a law review article on the impact of diversity on the bench for employment discrimination cases, the third edition of her co-authored Civil Procedure casebook, and a chapter on sexual harassment in the Oxford Handbook of Feminism and Law in the United States. Additionally, she has signed a contract with Harvard University Press to co-author, “What the Best Legal Mentors Do.”
“I am honored that the university has recognized my scholarship with this award,” Beiner said. “For the past 30 years, my research has focused on issues that shape our legal system, from employment discrimination law to judicial diversity. I am grateful for the support of my colleagues and students, whose insights and collaboration have enriched my work. This recognition reaffirms my commitment to advancing legal scholarship and contributing to meaningful discussions in the field.”
Faculty Excellence Award for Public Service
Ruhr has volunteered more than 400 hours at UAMS’ 12th Street Health and Wellness Center, providing free social work services and mentoring students as a preceptor. Since her election to the Dunbar Garden Board of Directors in February 2020, she has successfully secured more than $32,000 in funding through five grant proposals. In December 2024, she was elected to the Executive Committee of Dunbar Garden and is currently serving a two-year term as secretary.
On campus, she has served as the faculty advisor for Phi Alpha Honor Society since 2018. She has also been a faculty senator and Title IX investigator since 2019. In September 2024, she was elected as the Faculty Senate representative to the Faculty Governance Committee.
Nationally, Ruhr is a scientific reviewer for several journals, including BMC Health Services Research and SAGE Open Medicine. She also regularly reviews abstracts for the Society for Social Work and Research’s annual conference.
“I feel very honored to receive this award and very surprised,” Ruhr said. There are so many great candidates for this award. I’m happy to have won it and very appreciative for the experience.”
Faculty Excellence Award for Social Justice
Leyenberger joined UA Little Rock in 2020 after serving as executive director of a prison outreach organization, where she worked with incarcerated individuals serving long sentences. As chair of the Societal and Organizational Impact Concentration in the School of Social Work, she bridges academia and community engagement, connecting students with real-world projects that make a difference.
Leyenberger co-founded DecARcerate in 2015. She continues to advocate for prison reform, food security initiatives, and sustainable housing solutions. Her long-term goals include launching an Inside-Out prison course for social work students and advancing legislative efforts to eliminate unpaid prison labor.
In addition to her academic and advocacy work, Leyenberger serves as faculty sponsor of Phi Alpha Social Work Honors Society and is a community advisor for UAMS Women’s Justice-Involved Health Alliance Research. She has been recognized for her leadership with a UA Little Rock Sustainability Grant and remains committed to fostering student involvement in social justice initiatives.
“I feel really honored and surprised to receive this award, especially after hearing about the other nominees and their incredible accomplishments,” Leyenberger said. “This is really inspiring to me, to see how much good work is happening at UA Little Rock and in the community at large towards social justice and equity.”
Rising Faculty Excellence Award
Recognized for his exemplary teaching, leadership, and scholarly contributions, Cook has made a significant impact on students and colleagues alike. Regarded as a promising scholar and talented educator, Cook’s students describe him as a dedicated and deeply caring professor who fosters an engaging learning environment where questions and mistakes are embraced as part of the learning process. His ability to integrate active learning into research and writing courses has been praised as both practical and effective.
Cook has taken on leadership roles within the law school, including service as director of the Rural Practice Incubator Project and serving as an affiliated faculty member with the Center for Racial Justice and Criminal Justice Reform. His contributions to legal scholarship focus on questions of national security and legal writing.
“I am beyond honored and humbled to receive this award,” Cook said. “This was a true surprise, and I am incredibly grateful. My deepest thanks to the university, the Board of Visitors, the committee, and all of our donors for this tremendous honor. I am absolutely thrilled.”
Photo captions:
1. UA Little Rock honored the winners of the 2025 Faculty Excellence Awards during a ceremony on April 3.
2. Dr. Sarah Beth Estes (center), dean of the College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (CHASSE), congratulates the college-level Faculty Excellence winner from CHASSE. Pictured from left to right are Julien Mirivel, John Kirk, Jana McAulifee, and Emily Hood.
3. Jeff Connelly, interim dean of the Donaghey College of STEM, congratulates the college’s Faculty Excellence winners. Pictured from left to right are Connelly, Josh Spinler, Brian Walker, Greg Guisbiers, and Nawab Ali.
4. Thomas Clifton, interim dean of the College of Business, Health, and Human Services, honors the college-level Faculty Excellence winners. Pictured from left to right are Connie Barber, Amar Kanekar, Clifton, Lindsay Ruhr, and Morgan Leyenberger.
