Woman of the Year Award

Woman of the Year is an honor given to a female faculty member (full-time tenured or tenure track) dedicated to student education and committed to diversity. This award has been paused, and nominations are not currently being accepted.

Nominees should demonstrate these qualities or qualifications: 

  • Is a female faculty member (full-time tenured or tenure track)
  • Exemplifies the abilities and qualities that improve the campus climate for women through all elements of the university community
  • Serves as a role model by:
    • Working on issues that affect the quality of women’s lives at Missouri S&T
    • Committing to student learning
    • Actively participating in student and faculty mentoring
    • Earning achievements in her professional field
    • Speaking out on issues that affect the quality of women’s lives at Missouri S&T

The nominator is responsible for informing the nominee of their nomination and must solicit and collect up to five letters of support for the nominee.

The nominator should submit the following documents using the online form, being sure to highlight the ways in which the nominee meets the above criteria.

  • A letter of nomination
  • Letter(s) of support for the nomination (up to 5)
  • A CV from the nominee

A person may only be nominated one time each year. If multiple nominations are received for the same person, the person submitting the second nomination of a candidate will be notified.

Nominations will only be considered once all required information has been received and are due by 4:00 pm on Wednesday, March 12, 2025.

Questions?
If you have questions about the nomination process, you may contact the committee chairperson, Dr. Katherine Grote, at 573-341-4100 or grotekr@mst.edu

The award is funded by Missouri S&T alumna and Board of Trustees member Cindy Tang, Econ,’85. Thanks to her generosity, each recipient of the Woman of the Year Award receives professional development funds and a personal gift. Learn more about Ms. Tang.

In 2016, Cindy Tang established the Dr. Elizabeth Cummins Women’s Advocate Award in honor of one of her mentors. Cummins, a professor emerita and former chair of English and technical communication, was named Missouri S&T’s first Woman of the Year in 1997. 

Jessica Cundiff - 2025 Woman of the Year

Jessica Cundiff joined the university in 2015 as an assistant professor of psychology. Prior to joining Missouri S&T, she served as a visiting assistant professor at Colgate University in Hamilton, New York, and as a research analyst at the Computing Research Association in Washington, D.C.

Read more

Previous Winners

2024 Beth Kania-Gosche
2023 Catherine Johnson
2022 Gayla Olbricht
2021 Katherine Grote
2020 Amber Henslee
2019 Kathleen Sheppard
2018 Kathryn Northcut
2017 Audra Merfeld-Langston**
2016 Suzanna Long**
2015 Dan Lin**
2014 Shannon Fogg
2013 Barbara Hale***
2012 Irina Ivliyeva
2011 Diana Ahmad*
2010 Kimberly Henthorn**
2009 Kate Drowne
2008 Melanie Mormile
2007 Jennifer Leopold***
2006 Kristine Swenson
2005 Frances Montgomery*
2004 Francisca Oboh-Ikuenobe
2003 Nuran Ercal*
2002 Mariesa Crow*
2001 Carol Ann Smith*
2000 Susan Murray
1999 Paula Lutz**
1998 Catherine Riordan**
1997 Elizabeth Cummins***
*Retired  **Left the University ***Deceased