UArizona Honors Women of Impact 2023

The University of Arizona’s Office of Research, Innovation & Impact is proud to lead the annual Women of Impact campaign and recognition event, which will take place Oct. 20.

Each year, the office solicits nominations from across UArizona, and ultimately selects 30 remarkable faculty and staff who have each contributed significantly to the school’s identity as a world-class research enterprise. 

Named awardees are carefully selected based on their commitment to UArizona’s purpose, mission and values, unique skills in driving discovery and innovation, community impact, and willingness to empower others. Their contributions build the groundwork for a brighter future.

The 2023 honorees are:

Diane Austin
Director
School of Anthropology

Terry Badger
Director of Research Initiatives
College of Nursing

Susan Beck
Professor
Department of Geosciences

Gurtina Besla
Associate Professor
Department of Astronomy and Steward Observatory

Stephanie Russo Carroll
Associate Director
Native Nations Institute

Bonnie Colby
Professor
Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics

Laura Condon
Associate Professor
Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences

Anne Cress
Vice Dean for Operations and Strategy
College of Medicine

Kacey Ernst
Department Chair
Epidemiology and Biostatistics

Liesl Folks
Vice President for Semiconductor Strategy Research, Innovation & Impact

Carmala “Carmie” Garzione
Dean
College of Science

Rakhi Gibbons
Director of Licensing and Intellectual Property
Tech Launch Arizona

Felicia Goodrum
Interim Associate Department Head
College of Medicine

Melanie Hingle
Professor
Nutritional Sciences and Wellness

Tanya Hodges
Regional Academic Programs Manager
University of Arizona-Yuma

Corey Knox
Deputy Director
Arizona Astrobiology Center

Sharon Megdal
Director
Water Resources Research Center

Kathleen Melde
Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs and Inclusion
College of Engineering

Juanita Merchant
Regents Professor
Medicine-Gastroenterology

Maggie O’Haire
Associate Dean for Research
College of Veterinary Medicine

Mary Peterson
Director
Cognition Science Program

Margaret Pitts
Senior Associate Dean
Graduate College

Sudha Ram
Anheuser-Busch Endowed Professor in MIS, Entrepreneurship & Innovation
Eller College of Management

Andrea Romero
Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs
Office of the Provost

Lisa Romero
Associate Vice President
Marketing and Communications Research, Innovation & Impact

Edella Schlager
Director
School of Government and Public Policy

Valerie Shirley
Associate Professor of Indigenous Education
Department of Teaching, Learning and Sociocultural Studies

Shufang Su
Department Head
Department of Physics

Gayartri Vedantam
Professor
School of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences

Ofelia Zepeda
Regents Professor
Tohono O’odham Language and Linguistics