2022 Chancellors Club Teaching and Research Award winners announced

November 10, 2022

The 2022 Chancellors Club Teaching and Research Award winners have been announced. The research award honoree is Susan Carlson, AJ Rice Professor of Nutrition in the KU Department of Dietetics and Nutrition at KU Medical Center. The teaching award honoree is Professor Steve Hillmer, Director of the Davis Center for Figure Sense and a well-decorated faculty member in the KU School of Business, Lawrence.

The awardees each receive $10,000 annually for the next five years, funded in part by donors to the Chancellors Club.

Read more about the award winners below.

Susan Carlson, Ph.D.

Susan Carlson joined the University of Kansas Medical Center in 1999 as a Professor in the KU School of Nursing and School of Medicine, taking appointments in Pediatrics/Neonatology and OB-GYN. She has made tremendous strides in research, publishing more than 165 peer-reviewed articles, 37 book chapters and other invited articles.

At the beginning of her career, Dr. Carlson discovered that infants’ formulas were missing vital nutrients for infant growth and development. Through her hard work and research, approximately 99% of infant formula contain the nutrients she discovered were missing. In 2017, she was named a University Distinguished Professor in the University of Kansas Medical Center and was appointed associate dean for research in the KU School of Health Professions.

For more than 20 years, Dr. Carlson has dedicated her time, research and service to inspiring students and making innovative strides in Pediatric and family wellness at The University of Kansas.

Career highlights:

Dr. Carlson has generated more than $13 million in federal funding and more than $4 million in industry-sponsored funding for her research.
In 2002, Dr. Carlson was named Honorary Member–American Dietetic Association for pioneering work in the role of DHA in infant development.
Dr. Carlson received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Global Organization for EPA and DHA Omega-3s in 2022.

Steve Hillmer, Ph.D.

Dr. Steve Hillmer joined the KU School of Business in 1977 and was named Director of Finance, Economics, and Decision Science Division in 2011. In 2016, he was selected as the Director of the Davis Center for Figure Sense where he remains today.

Hillmer also served as the Director for Analytics, Information, and Operations Management from 2018 to 2019. He has authored and co-authored numerous books and academic journals throughout his career.

For more than four decades, Hillmer has inspired students by encouraging them to learn for the value, not the grades.

Career highlights:

Dr. Hillmer published and 36 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters.
In 2009, Dr. Hillmer received the Gordon Fitch Distinguished Service Award in 2009.
Dr. Hillmer has taught more than 75 classes in the KU Business School and served on more than 6 committees while at KU.

KU Endowment is the independent, nonprofit organization serving as the official fundraising and fund-management organization for KU. Founded in 1891, KU Endowment was the first foundation of its kind at a U.S. public university.

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November 10, 2022