Today@Sam Article
Introducing the 2025 Faculty Excellence Winners
Sept. 11, 2025
SHSU Media Contact: Campbell Atkins
By Aly Huarcaya
Sam Houston State University professors whose scholarly accomplishments, service and academic engagement stand out among their peers have been honored with the 2025 Faculty Excellence Awards. The recipients are Shyam Nair, Excellence in Teaching; Todd Primm, Excellence in Service; Jerry Cook, Excellence in Scholarly & Creative Accomplishments; Keila Tyner, Excellence in Non-Tenure Track Teaching and Kamphol Wipawayangkool, 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 Academic Awards Dinner. They also receive a financial stipend.
Excellence in Teaching:
Shyam Nair, Associate Professor, School of Agricultural Sciences
Shyam Nair, who joined SHSU in 2014, is a passionate educator. Nair sparks interest among students through multiple interactive and innovative approaches that help garner instant student feedback, as well as allowing for the assessment of their learning outcomes.
Nair actively identifies differences in students’ abilities and efforts and then strives to address this variability through individualized instruction. He encourages students to seek one-on-one guidance through his office hours, allowing Nair to interact with students and appropriately tailor course material explanations to each student’s comprehension.
His unwavering support for students and excellence in teaching has led to national recognition. He was a recipient of two awards provided by the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture, the Teaching Award of Merit and the Educator Award, as well as the most prestigious teaching award given by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the National Award for Excellence in College and University Teaching in the Food and Agricultural Sciences.
Comments:
“Students universally applaud Dr. Nair for his passion for teaching, genuine care for students, professionalism, availability outside the classroom and approachability, all of which make him a top teacher in the School of Agricultural Sciences and the university at large.”
Excellence in Service:
Todd Primm, Professor, Department of Biological Sciences
Todd Primm exemplifies the SHSU motto, “The measure of a Life is its Service.” During his time at SHSU, Primm has shown a continuous high level of involvement in serving students as well as his colleagues. He has facilitated workshops and courses to help faculty improve their courses through his work with PACE (now the Teaching & Learning Center) and has acted as a faculty advisor for multiple student organizations. From supporting his fellow faculty to his dedication to the enhancement of his students’ experiences and engagement, Primm is an example of an effective leader.
Primm initially brought the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE) program to SHSU in 2017 and has since been a facilitator for its course on effective college instruction certification for multiple cohorts. Through his commitment to supporting SHSU faculty, Primm has made a lasting impact on those he assisted.
Primm has repeatedly helped foster the campus community by encouraging individual student connections as well as having an inviting presence at events. During his time as faculty advisor coordinating student activities for the Cru student organization, Primm has been described as going above and beyond for the organization.
Comments:
“Todd Primm was able to expertly juggle both the needs of his family and those of his student group because of his service mindedness. These major tasks were accomplished while he also continued teaching, conducting research projects, mentoring undergraduate and graduate students in his discipline, and managing the array of PACE events and activities. I remember being in awe of his dedication to so many areas during this time, and I never once saw his commitment to service waver.”
Excellence in Scholarly & Creative Accomplishments:
Jerry Cook, TSUS Regents’ Distinguished Professor, Department of Biological Sciences
In his 25 years as an active faculty member in the Department of Biological Sciences, Jerry Cook has achieved exceptional accomplishments in his field.
Cook has published 108 works, including one book, 93 peer-reviewed articles, two book chapters, and six peer-reviewed publications for extension services, with more publications in the works. His research has reached both highly specialized readers and the public. For example, his research on fire ants and other invasive species within the state has provided essential information for all Texans.
Cook’s research has also impacted the SHSU and Huntsville communities, as he brought several natural history collections at SHSU together to create the Sam Houston Natural History Collections, the fastest growing collection in Texas. This accomplishment shows his passion for sharing his research with specialists, the public and SHSU students. Cook has discovered new species worldwide, and his work has led to him being appointed the sole external reviewer for the Hymenoptera section of the United States National Museum of the Smithsonian Institute.
Comments:
“Dr. Cook is an acclaimed scientist in the field of entomology, and his research has been enhanced by his teaching and working with students in the classroom as well as undergraduate and graduate researchers. He has many publications with undergraduates and graduates as coauthors. Research has always been an important component of his professional excellence.”
Excellence in Non-Tenure Track Teaching;
Keila Tyner, Associate Professor of Practice, Department of Human Sciences
Since joining SHSU in 2020, Keila Tyner has demonstrated a commitment to students and curriculum. Her dedication and impact are evident on not just the Fashion Merchandising program, but the program's students as well.
Just one year after being hired to rebuild the undergraduate Fashion Merchandising program, Tyner successfully transformed the in-person curriculum into a 100% online program. The newly reconstructed program included the development of new courses, a revision of the degree plan, and the addition of several minors, including a new minor in Fashion Merchandising. Her dedication to the program has expanded opportunities available to students pursuing careers in the fashion industry.
Tyner is dedicated to students and their success. She has played an instrumental role in securing and fostering impactful internship opportunities for students. Under her leadership, students have interned with prestigious companies, such as Levi Strauss & Kassandra SRL Fashion Design Studio, for the first time in the program’s history.
Comments:
“Dr. Tyner has demonstrated an exceptional commitment to her students, innovative curriculum development and a transformative vision for the Fashion Merchandising program. Her impact has been profound, and her dedication to student success makes her an outstanding candidate for this prestigious recognition.”
David Payne Academic Community Engagement (ACE) Award:
Kamphol Wipawayangkool, Professor, Department of Management, Marketing, and Information Systems
Real-world experiences and applications are important aspects of the learning process in any field, and when it comes to curriculum, Kamphol Wipawayangkool provides the experience necessary for his students to succeed.
Wipawayangkool strives to educate students on the role of technology in organizations and equip them with the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in their careers. With more than 20 community partners since 2012, Wipawayangkool’s ACE projects have been centered around web and database design and development in a team environment, allowing students to gain technical proficiency and develop soft skills that are beneficial for their future careers.
Several of Wipawayangkool’s students have expressed how beneficial his ACE projects have been in preparing them for their future careers. These projects not only benefit students, but also the partners who work with them. Wipawayangkool’s ACE projects have helped create a database schema for the SHSU Center for Community Engagement (CCE) and a database design and website for the Samuel Walker Houston Museum and Cultural Center in Huntsville, as well as other projects.
Comments:
“Kamphol’s belief in the advantages of incorporating community engagement in the classroom is further exhibited with the number of ACE courses he included when he was a junior faculty member. The typical teaching approach for tenure-track instructors is to follow a very structured approach with a textbook. He realizes the advantages of students working with community organizations. While this adds a layer of uncertainty because of the unstructured component, it also helps to improve students’ soft skills. Students learn to work in teams to communicate with clients and solve problems.”
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