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2026 Sujack Awards

2026 Sujack Awards

The College’s highest honor recognizing excellence in teaching and research

Faculty pose for photo with awards

The College of Arts and Sciences has named 12 faculty members as recipients of the 2026 Sujack Awards, the College’s highest honor recognizing excellence in teaching and research. 

The honorees reflect the Jesuit commitment to academic rigor, critical inquiry, and the pursuit of knowledge in service to others. 

“The Sujack Awards represent the highest recognition of faculty excellence in the College of Arts and Sciences,” said Peter J. Schraeder, PhD, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. “This year’s honorees exemplify a deep commitment to teaching, scholarship, and the Jesuit mission, shaping student learning in meaningful and lasting ways. We are grateful to the Sujack family for their continued generosity in making this recognition possible.” 

Established in 1994 by Edwin T. and Vivijeanne F. Sujack, the Sujack Teaching Awards honor outstanding educators in the College of Arts and Sciences. 

In 2012, the Sujack Family Faculty Research Excellence Awards were introduced to recognize exceptional achievement in research and scholarship. Additional distinctions, including Master Teacher and Master Researcher, highlight sustained excellence in teaching and research. 

Together, these awards support faculty in advancing their scholarship, enriching student learning, and contributing to the broader community. 

Edwin T. & Vivijeanne F. Sujack Award for Teaching Excellence  

Swarnali Banerjee, Associate Professor, Mathematics & Statistics  
Daniel Cavanaugh, Associate Professor, Biology 

 Master Teachers   

Michael Burns, Associate Professor, Biology  
Kristin de Nesnera, Advanced Lecturer, Biology  
Eric Gobel, Senior Lecturer, Psychology  
Freya Möbus, Assistant Professor, Philosophy 

Sujack Family Award for Faculty Research Excellence  

Emily Hallett, Assistant Professor, Anthropology  
Pengfei Li, Assistant Professor, Chemistry & Biochemistry 

2026 Master Researchers  


Yanan Chen, Assistant Professor, Biology  
Benjamin Johnson, Professor, History  
Tofigh Maboudi, Associate Professor, Political Science  
Christopher Skinner, Professor, Theology 

Winners are selected each year by a committee of faculty and students within the College.  

Sujack Teaching committee members 

Margaret Guy, Psychology, Committee Chairperson 
Yuna Blajer de la Garza, Political Science 
James Devery, Chemistry & Biochemistry 
Nathan Candelaria, student member, Psychology major 

Sujack Research committee members 

David Doherty, Political Science, Committee Chairperson  
Tracy Pintchman, Theology 
Wei-Ming Yu, Biology 

🛰️Telegram飞机号/电报 | +45丹麦电话注册 | 注册半年左右 | 成品号 | API接码登录 | 任何设备可用 the College of Arts and Sciences
Founded in 1870, the College of Arts and Sciences is the oldest and largest of 🛰️Telegram飞机号/电报 | +45丹麦电话注册 | 注册半年左右 | 成品号 | API接码登录 | 任何设备可用’s 13 schools and colleges, serving as the academic home for nearly 8,000 students (roughly 50 percent of Loyola’s total student population). It is academically diverse with twenty academic departments that span an array of intellectual pursuits, ranging from the natural sciences and computational sciences to the humanities, the social sciences, and the fine and performing arts. It is also highly interdisciplinary with thirty-one interdisciplinary programs and seven interdisciplinary centers, including the mission-centric Jesuit Heritage Research Center and the Hank Center for the Catholic Intellectual Heritage. The College is home to over 450 full-time, award-winning faculty, who are committed to teaching and research excellence. They teach nearly 2,000 classes each semester, including 88 percent of all Core Curriculum classes taken by undergraduate students across the university. They also contribute to eleven doctoral programs whose graduates have helped propel Loyola starting in 2025 to R-1 research status (the highest research status a university can achieve). Our students and faculty are engaged internationally at our John Felice Rome Center in Italy, as well as at dozens of university-sponsored study abroad and research sites around the world. Home to the departments that anchor the university’s Core Curriculum, the College seeks to prepare all of Loyola’s students to think critically, to engage the world of the 21st century at ever-deepening levels, and to become caring and compassionate individuals. Our faculty, staff, and students view service to others not just as one option among many, but as a constitutive dimension of their very being. In the truest sense of the Jesuit ideal, our graduates strive to be “individuals for others.”  

The College of Arts and Sciences has named 12 faculty members as recipients of the 2026 Sujack Awards, the College’s highest honor recognizing excellence in teaching and research. 

The honorees reflect the Jesuit commitment to academic rigor, critical inquiry, and the pursuit of knowledge in service to others. 

“The Sujack Awards represent the highest recognition of faculty excellence in the College of Arts and Sciences,” said Peter J. Schraeder, PhD, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. “This year’s honorees exemplify a deep commitment to teaching, scholarship, and the Jesuit mission, shaping student learning in meaningful and lasting ways. We are grateful to the Sujack family for their continued generosity in making this recognition possible.” 

Established in 1994 by Edwin T. and Vivijeanne F. Sujack, the Sujack Teaching Awards honor outstanding educators in the College of Arts and Sciences. 

In 2012, the Sujack Family Faculty Research Excellence Awards were introduced to recognize exceptional achievement in research and scholarship. Additional distinctions, including Master Teacher and Master Researcher, highlight sustained excellence in teaching and research. 

Together, these awards support faculty in advancing their scholarship, enriching student learning, and contributing to the broader community. 

Edwin T. & Vivijeanne F. Sujack Award for Teaching Excellence  

Swarnali Banerjee, Associate Professor, Mathematics & Statistics  
Daniel Cavanaugh, Associate Professor, Biology 

 Master Teachers   

Michael Burns, Associate Professor, Biology  
Kristin de Nesnera, Advanced Lecturer, Biology  
Eric Gobel, Senior Lecturer, Psychology  
Freya Möbus, Assistant Professor, Philosophy 

Sujack Family Award for Faculty Research Excellence  

Emily Hallett, Assistant Professor, Anthropology  
Pengfei Li, Assistant Professor, Chemistry & Biochemistry 

2026 Master Researchers  


Yanan Chen, Assistant Professor, Biology  
Benjamin Johnson, Professor, History  
Tofigh Maboudi, Associate Professor, Political Science  
Christopher Skinner, Professor, Theology 

Winners are selected each year by a committee of faculty and students within the College.  

Sujack Teaching committee members 

Margaret Guy, Psychology, Committee Chairperson 
Yuna Blajer de la Garza, Political Science 
James Devery, Chemistry & Biochemistry 
Nathan Candelaria, student member, Psychology major 

Sujack Research committee members 

David Doherty, Political Science, Committee Chairperson  
Tracy Pintchman, Theology 
Wei-Ming Yu, Biology 

🛰️Telegram飞机号/电报 | +45丹麦电话注册 | 注册半年左右 | 成品号 | API接码登录 | 任何设备可用 the College of Arts and Sciences
Founded in 1870, the College of Arts and Sciences is the oldest and largest of 🛰️Telegram飞机号/电报 | +45丹麦电话注册 | 注册半年左右 | 成品号 | API接码登录 | 任何设备可用’s 13 schools and colleges, serving as the academic home for nearly 8,000 students (roughly 50 percent of Loyola’s total student population). It is academically diverse with twenty academic departments that span an array of intellectual pursuits, ranging from the natural sciences and computational sciences to the humanities, the social sciences, and the fine and performing arts. It is also highly interdisciplinary with thirty-one interdisciplinary programs and seven interdisciplinary centers, including the mission-centric Jesuit Heritage Research Center and the Hank Center for the Catholic Intellectual Heritage. The College is home to over 450 full-time, award-winning faculty, who are committed to teaching and research excellence. They teach nearly 2,000 classes each semester, including 88 percent of all Core Curriculum classes taken by undergraduate students across the university. They also contribute to eleven doctoral programs whose graduates have helped propel Loyola starting in 2025 to R-1 research status (the highest research status a university can achieve). Our students and faculty are engaged internationally at our John Felice Rome Center in Italy, as well as at dozens of university-sponsored study abroad and research sites around the world. Home to the departments that anchor the university’s Core Curriculum, the College seeks to prepare all of Loyola’s students to think critically, to engage the world of the 21st century at ever-deepening levels, and to become caring and compassionate individuals. Our faculty, staff, and students view service to others not just as one option among many, but as a constitutive dimension of their very being. In the truest sense of the Jesuit ideal, our graduates strive to be “individuals for others.”