2023 Kingfisher Award Nominations Now Open
Do you know an outstanding Creighton faculty and staff member who demonstrates an extraordinary commitment to the enduring values, principles and practices of the humanities? Does their commitment to the humanities make an impact on the work and activities of our University and our community?
Nominate them for the annual Creighton University Kingfisher Award. The award recognizes an individual in our community who finds new and inspiring ways to unify heart, hands and mind to reveal the ongoing relevance of humanistic ideals and practices in our lives and our professions. In the words of Gerard Manley Hopkins, SJ, whose poem As Kingfishers Catch Fire inspires these efforts, we “say more.”
Nomination
Submit nominations online. Nominators may submit nominations from last year’s pool of candidates. Submissions must include:
- Letter(s) of nomination and support,
- The nominee’s curriculum vitae (CV) or résumé, and
- Statement from the nominee (optional)
Nominations are due on Friday, June 30.
Selection
A selection committee composed of the director and a staff member of the Kingfisher Institute; a member from the Dean’s Council and the Division of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion; a Creighton graduate; and two additional appointees will provide Creighton President the Rev. Daniel S. Hendrickson, SJ, PhD, with a ranked list of finalists and written recommendations.
Committee members are: Bridget Keegan, PhD, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Helen Hurst, DNP, associate dean of the Creighton University Health Sciences Campus - Phoenix, Sarah Singletary Walker, PhD, vice president of the Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Tracy Leavelle, PhD, director of the Kingfisher Institute for the Liberal Arts and Professions, Charise Alexander Adams, program manager of the Kingfisher Institute for the Liberal Arts and Professions, Sara McDonnell-Lukesh, BS'02, BSN'05, DNP'19, and Jeff Feldhaus, special assistant to the President and board liaison.
Nominees for this award will, among other possibilities, demonstrate the creative application of humanities principles and practices; discover ways to integrate the humanities with other disciplines or professions; or participate in publicly engaged teaching and scholarship.
The award will be presented this fall, at the annual town hall event. The awardee will receive $5,000 for research and scholarship and a Kingfisher statuette designed and made by a local artist.
Previous recipients
- 2019 — John O’Keefe, PhD, a theology professor and documentary filmmaker, truly embodied the Jesuit tradition of “contemplation in action.”
- 2020 — Omofolasade Kosoko-Lasaki, MD, director of the Health Sciences Multicultural and Community Affairs office, has over the past two decades crafted that office into a preeminent center of diversity advocacy.
- 2021 — Nicole Piemonte, PhD, assistant dean for student affairs and assistant professor in the Department of Medical Humanities, created and implemented medical humanities curricula for the Omaha and Phoenix campuses, making humanities principles and practices part of Creighton medical student formation.
- 2022 — Patrick Murray, PhD, professor of philosophy, has long championed the liberal arts and the humanities, consistently finding ways to interconnect the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities, contributing to an array of curricular innovations.