Loyola Marymount University Frank R. Seaver College of Science and Engineering honored two faculty and a staff member with college awards at Seaver’s end of the year meeting for 2024.
Andrew Forney won the 2024 Elizabeth and Michael Rudinica Award for Teaching and Advising. This award recognizes his ability to effectively engage students in course material, as well as his direct interest in the academic well-being of the students and active participation in their advisement.
Associate Professor Forney completed his B.S. in computer science and psychology at Loyola Marymount University and returned to serve his alma mater. Students frequently comment on Forney’s optimal pacing in lectures and his availability and responsiveness outside the classroom. Also cited was his sense of humor, which tempers his challenging but highly beneficial homework assignments. As one student put it “I get the feeling I’ll be retaining a lot more of this information as I move on into other classes.”
One of the most impressive aspects to this work is that our award winner orchestrated these challenging but engaging courses while teaching courses with very large enrollment. As stated by his chair, “through it all he retains a very positive, ‘the more the merrier perspective.’” In addition, he serves as academic advisor for more than 30 students.
Demian Willette, associate professor of biology, won the 2024 Rudinica Prize for Student-Faculty Research. This prize celebrates his effectiveness in developing research projects for students, guiding them in their work, as well as Willette’s command of his discipline and continuous growth in his field of study.
Willette is an energetic and highly regarded teacher-scholar. He has more than 50 peer-reviewed publications and has mentored approximately 50 undergraduate and graduate students in research, many of whom are now co-authors on published scholarly work. He also has an impressive track record of securing significant external funding; consistently leveraging this external support to provide students with invaluable research opportunities, to contribute to the university mission, and to positively and significantly impact the wider community.
Zydra Van Der Sluys, laboratory support associate for the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department, won the 2024 Outstanding Staff Award. This award recognizes a Seaver staff member who goes above and beyond to support fellow colleagues, students, and the Seaver community in ways that demonstrate service, dedication, initiative, and professionalism.
Van Der Sluys displays a tireless commitment to Seaver by facilitating a large number of labs and lab courses, overseeing a large number of student workers (and doing so with great care), motivating students to do their best, and supporting faculty and their individual research projects. She is well known for having an infectiously positive attitude, for creating a welcoming environment for all, and for her community building efforts. A few of the ways she does this is by putting out seasonal decorations and interactive displays where students can leave messages, as well as organizing exciting events that the entire Seaver community is welcome at.
In 2007, Elizabeth ’79 and Michael Rudinica ’75, M.S. ’79 established an endowment to recognize two meritorious faculty members each year. Mike shared that his motivation for the endowment stemmed from the profound difference faculty members made in his education. Both awards honor the recipients’ ability to inspire independent and creative thinking in students and to encourage their intellectual interests and curiosity. The awards recognize advising and mentorship that enriches Seaver students’ academic experience. Congratulations to our 2024 winners!
