Introducing the 2026 Faculty Excellence Winners

Introducing the 2026 Faculty Excellence Winners

Sam Houston State University professors whose scholarly accomplishments, service and academic engagement stand out among their peers have been honored with the 2026 Faculty Excellence Awards. The recipients are Felicia Mirghassemi, Excellence in Teaching; Kandi Tayebi, Excellence in Service; Mitchel Roth, Excellence in Scholarly & Creative Accomplishments; Lilibeth Al-Kofahy, Excellence in Non-Tenure Track Teaching and Zachary Doleshal, David Payne Academic Community Engagement Award.

Each year, the university invites the Bearkat community to nominate faculty members who have consistently demonstrated excellence. A committee reviews the nominations and selects winners to be honored at the Annual Faculty & Staff Meeting and the Academic Awards Dinner. Additionally, the winners receive a financial stipend.

Excellence in Teaching:
Felicia Mirghassemi, Assistant Professor, Department of Counselor Education

Mirghassemi creates an engaging, inclusive and intellectually stimulating environment in the classroom. She incorporates experiential activities that allow students to actively engage with material, and her teaching is recognized for being clear, organized and grounded in real-world applications.

A notable strength in Mirghassemi's teaching is her focus on skill development. She provides students with meaningful opportunities to practice essential counseling and counselor educator skills, allowing for confidence to grow beyond the classroom.

Comments:
“Dr. Mirghassemi’s teaching skills are outstanding, but what really sets her apart is her strong dedication to helping students grow and providing mentorship.”

Excellence in Service:
Kandi Tayebi, Professor, Department of English

During her time at SHSU, Tayebi established herself as a leader and mentor. She has served multiple programs on campus, including the McNair Scholars Program, ASPIRE and Road to PhD. Through these programs, Tayebi has positively impacted student outcomes through intensive mentoring, research training and professional development.

As an educator, students speak highly of Tayebi’s patience, encouragement and high standards. She shows commitment to her students' success by preparing them for conferences, submitting their research to journals and preparing them for their futures after graduate school.

As faculty advisor for the SHSU Writer’s Guild, Tayebi not only assists in developing the organization’s events and activities, she also connects the organization to the broader literary community by bringing professional writers to speak, building relationships with writing organizations and guiding students through the process of creating and publishing an online literary magazine – all on her own time.

Comments:
“Dr. Tayebi intentionally taught us leadership skills – how to organize, collaborate and lead with a purpose – and those lessons have continued to shape my success after graduation.”

Excellence in Scholarly & Creative Accomplishments:
Mitchel Roth, Professor, Department of Criminal Justice & Criminology

Roth is a scholar. Throughout his time at SHSU, Roth has made significant contributions to the criminology and criminal justice field.

Roth’s academic career has been notable for the depth and breadth of his research interests. He is driven to fill critical gaps in literature. Whenever Roth has identified a void in criminal justice history, he worked to address the gap.

Roth’s work in the Journal of Gang Research shattered longstanding myths of the origins of America’s prison gangs, and he has earned several prestigious awards for his scholarly achievements, including the Frederic Milton Thrasher Award for Superior Accomplishments in Gang Research.

Comments:
“His expertise across subjects is extremely impressive… In the field of criminal justice, there is simply no one better to go to for criminal justice needs which blend detailed historical context. Not even close.”

Excellence in Non-Tenure Track Teaching:
Lilibeth Al-Kofahy, Clinical Professor, School of Nursing

Al-Kofahy has established an unmistakable and sustained pattern of teaching excellence during her time at SHSU. Described as compassionate and deeply invested in student success, Al-Kofahy’s students applaud how she goes above and beyond for them and consistently demonstrates a commitment to academic and personal growth in her students.

In addition, Al-Kofahy co-leads an international clinical experience for students in Costa Rica through the study abroad program. This community-based learning initiative deepens students’ understanding of population-focused care, cultural humility and global nursing practice – embodying the School of Nursing’s mission to prepare globally informed nursing professionals.

Al-Kofahy is not content with conventional instruction. Instead, she actively deploys multimodal teaching strategies that engage students with passion and humility. Students repeatedly report that her teaching style builds confidence, capability and motivation – qualities that are essential to producing trustworthy nursing professionals.

Comments:
“Dr. Al-Kofahy excels at bringing out the best in her students by creating a supportive, nurturing learning environment that builds confidence and competence.”

David Payne Academic Community Engagement Award:
Zachary Doleshal, Clinical Associate Professor, Department of History

Doleshal has shown a deep commitment to community engagement through his Academic Community Engagement (ACE) courses and community partnerships. Doleshal’s work in community engagement has not only left a lasting impact on his students, but also in the SHSU, Huntsville and Walker County communities.

In his public history courses, Doleshal’s students have worked with 11 organizations and approximately 30 individual collaborators on exhibits. In fact, many students launched their careers in the field following their time in Doleshal’s class. Doleshal has built a network for students with 16 partnering organizations for internships, and 82 students have been placed in these internship positions so far. His partnerships with the community benefit not just his students but the organizations and community as well.

Comments:
“The lives that have been touched, improved and educated because of Zach’s willingness to partner with a somewhat unique field is beyond my count. I cannot say enough about how much I, my agency, consumers, their families and other academic institutions have and will continue to benefit from Zach’s commitment to community engagement.”