Thirty-five University of Michigan faculty members are receiving awards this fall in recognition of their notable contributions in the areas of teaching, mentoring, service and scholarship. They will be honored at a Faculty Awards Celebration on Oct. 30.
Regents' Award for Distinguished Public Service
Lilia Cortina
University Diversity and Social Transformation Professor; professor of psychology, and of women’s and gender studies, LSA; and professor of management and organizations, Stephen M. Ross School of Business
Lilia Cortina is a nationally recognized and award-winning expert on sexual harassment and hostile work environments, whose scholarship has transformed our understanding of workplace equity. Through pioneering research, influential legal testimony as an expert witness, and the creation of practical tools and strategies, Cortina has empowered institutions and individuals to build more just and inclusive work cultures. She joined U-M’s faculty in 2000. In 2021, she was named a University Diversity and Social Transformation Professor of Psychology and Women’s and Gender Studies, and currently, she chairs the Department of Women’s and Gender Studies. In 2018, Cortina co-authored a landmark National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine study focused on sexual harassment of women in STEM fields, which has been downloaded nearly 30,000 times and cited in five proposed pieces of legislation and hearings. Her research has been featured in prominent media outlets such as The Washington Post, The New York Times, TIME Magazine, and the Chronicle of Higher Education. On campus, Cortina has led initiatives as associate director of ADVANCE, working to foster respect and inclusion in academic spaces.
University Diversity and Social Transformation Professorship
Patrick Grzanka
University Diversity and Social Transformation Professor; and professor of women’s and gender studies, LSA
Patrick Grzanka’s work asks tough questions about systems often taken for granted. An applied feminist psychologist and social issues researcher, he studies how institutions like science, education and health care are capable of reinforcing inequality. Drawing on both quantitative data and narratives, his research explores how race, gender and sexuality shape people’s everyday experiences and opportunities. Grzanka is known for bringing clarity and urgency to complex social debates, including how beliefs about social categories and scientific knowledge are deployed in social movements. Grzanka joined U-M’s faculty after 11 years at the University of Tennessee, where he was professor of psychology and the inaugural divisional dean for social sciences at the flagship campus in Knoxville. He is the author of “Intersectionality: Foundations and Frontiers,” as well as the forthcoming book, “The ‘Born This Way’ Wars: Sexuality, Science, and the Future of Equality.” His contributions have been recognized with honors including the 2023 George A. Miller Award and the 2023 Distinguished Contribution to Public Policy Award from the American Psychological Association. He is a former president of the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (2023-24) and incoming co-editor of the “Journal of Social Issues.”
Faculty Recognition Awards
Megan Sweeney
Arthur F. Thurnau Professor; professor of English language and literature, professor of Afroamerican and African studies, professor of women’s and gender studies and chair, Department of English Language and Literature, LSA
Megan Sweeney is a distinguished literary scholar, known for methodologically innovative research that draws from African American literary and cultural studies, feminist theory, material cultural studies and auto theory. She joined the U-M faculty in 2004. Her acclaimed first monograph, “Reading Is My Window: Books and the Art of Reading in Women’s Prisons” (2010), was a groundbreaking exploration of cultures of reading in penal contexts. Her second monograph, “Mendings” (2023), centers clothing and textiles in reflecting on possibilities for mending interpersonal, historical and environmental forms of brokenness and loss. Sweeney has received prestigious fellowships from the Ford Foundation, the Woodrow Wilson Foundation and the Radcliffe Institute at Harvard. For 15 years, she has served as an executive officer in one or more of her three departments, contributed to significant curricular and program initiatives, and developed a reputation as an exemplary mentor, teacher and colleague. Her colleagues affirm her tireless devotion to building and improving communities across the university.
