Commencement Awards
Discover awards honoring UofL's top graduate achievers, celebrating excellence, leadership, resilience and their impactful contributions to their field.
Fall 2025 Commencement Award Winners
We congratulate the following Commencement Award Winners, as well as those recognized as having earned a Dean's Citation.
Guy Stevenson Award for Excellence in Graduate Studies
Clayton Dean Robertson,
PhD Physics and Astronomy,
Mentor: Professor Benne Holwerda
John Richard Binford Memorial Award
Samuel Thomas Vielee,
PhD Pharmacology and Toxicology,
Mentor: Assistant Professor John Wise, Jr.
John M. Houchens Prize for Outstanding Dissertation
Ahmed Muhammed Sherif Mostafa Alksas,
PhD Computer Science and Engineering,
Co-Mentors: Professor Adel Elmagnraby and Professor Ayman El-Baz
Graduate Dean's Citations
To be eligible for a Graduate Dean’s Citation, the student must have significant accomplishments (e.g. publications, teaching excellence, and professional service) beyond the achievement of a high-grade point average.
| Name | Program |
|---|---|
| Stephanie Abraham | Epidemiology & Population Health (PhD) |
| Jeevan Adhikari | Public Health Sciences (PhD) |
| Florence Akingbehin | Criminal Justice (MS) |
| Sharmin Akter | Mechanical Engineering (PhD) |
| Helena Alacha | Clinical Psychology (PhD) |
| Ahmed Alksas | Computer Science and Engineering (PhD) |
| Shikhi Baruri | Biology (PhD) |
| Juliana Binhote | Entrepreneurship (PhD) |
| Ashley Bittner | Humanities (PhD) |
| Naomi Deeds | Social Work (MSW) |
| Cindia Fernandez | Social Work (MSW) |
| Raeden Gray | Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics (PhD) |
| Xiaolin Guo | Mechanical Engineering (PhD) |
| Marcellos Jackson | Sociology (MA) |
| Amanda Minogue | Social Work (PhD) |
| Toheeb Mustapha | Public Health Sciences (PhD) |
| Md. Yasin Parh | Biostatistics (PhD) |
| Clayton Robertson | Physics (PhD) |
| Hayley Salo | Humanities (PhD) |
| Kate Tarvestad-Laise | Pharmacology and Toxicology (PhD) |
| Samuel Vielee | Pharmacology and Toxicology (PhD) |
| Franklin Walden | Urban Planning (MUP) & Public Administration (MPA) |
| Collin Wells | Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics (PhD) |
| James Whitley | Anatomical Sciences and Neurobiology (PhD) |
| Caleb Whitley | Microbiology and Immunology (PhD) |
| Jacqui Zaczek | Anthropology (MA) |