Among the many difference-makers on our campus:
Senior Director Danielle Driskill (BA '12, MA '14) was named a Woman of Distinction by the Pittsburg Area Chamber of Commerce. Driskill leads efforts to strengthen the lifelong connection between the university and its more than 70,000 alumni, and has played a key role in modernizing alumni engagement efforts. She is an active community volunteer for the Pittsburg Rotary Club and her sorority, Sigma Sigma Sigma, where her passion for mentorship and leadership was recognized with the Advisor of the Year award.
Professor Sang Lee was elected Program Chair‑Elect of the Midwest Academy of Management (MWAOM). He will organize and lead the 2027 conference to be held in Kansas. MWAOM comprises researchers and practitioners committed to leveraging their expertise to improve business and society and advancing management theory, research, and education.
Assistant Director Bailey Talkington was the event coordinator for the community’s first Farm to Fork: Harvest Festival, sponsored by the Sustainability Advisory Committee through the City of Pittsburg. Talkington and her team partnered with eight locally owned restaurants that donated time to create dishes with produce sourced directly from local farmers and vendors. The event sold out and raised more than $5,200 that was donated directly to The Wesley House in Pittsburg, where it will feed more than 1,000 people in need.
Executive Director David Hurford was recognized by the International Dyslexia Association at the 2025 Annual Reading, Literacy, & Learning Conference in Atlanta. He received an award for his service as editor-in-chief of the IDA journal, Perspectives on Language and Literacy. The journal helps to translate research into practice for educators and other professionals.
Assistant Professor Mazeyar Gashti has been appointed to join “Collagen and Leather,” an outstanding global journal in the field of materials science, to contribute to advancing high-quality research in collagen, leather, and related materials. He will collaborate with distinguished colleagues, researchers, and innovators worldwide on a variety of scientific research topics. Gashti also was selected for the second year in a row to the list of World’s Top 2% of Scientists, a list generated by Stanford University.
Assistant Professor Megan Westhoff (BA '02, MA ‘04), Associate Instructional Professor Linden Little (MA '11), and Costume Designer Lisa Quinteros (BA ‘98) collaborated with Pittsburg Community Theatre and the Bicknell Family Center for the Arts on Rising Starz, a 5-week camp for teens. More than 40 teens from 12 local schools were welcomed to campus and the camp culminated with two performances of “Beetlejuice Jr.”
Assistant Professor Kristen Livingston (BS ‘07, MA ‘08) was voted in as Communication Coordinator for the National Board of Lambda Sigma, the Sophomore Honor Society. This position involves aiding chapters across the country as an advisor and producing the national newsletter.
Professor Laura Lee Washburn's book of poetry, “Arteries,” (Pine Row Press) was nominated for the Kansas Author’s Club Nelson Book Award. Washburn is the director of Creative Writing at Pitt State. The book tells the intriguing story of the everyday lives of an extended family in the American South. Through individual poems cast at lyrics, personas, and letters, Washburn creates a dialogue among the characters.
Professor Christel Benson was named a Woman of Distinction by the Pittsburg Area Chamber of Commerce. Benson has lent her design expertise to numerous community initiatives, including the Women of Distinction Calendar which she created 20 years ago, Paint the Town Red, Pittsburg Area Young Professionals, Pittsburg Beautiful, Family Resource Center, USD 250 and many more. She was also a driving force in encouraging Pitt State students to compete in the American Advertising Federation–Heartland Chapter ADDY Awards, where they’ve earned honors for 16 consecutive years.
Associate Vice President of Technology-Chief Information Officer Angela Neria (BBA ‘94, MBA ‘95, EdS ‘99) has been chosen as the 2025 recipient of the Midwestern Higher Education Compact Outstanding Service Award for her contributions as a leader of the organization’s Technologies Executive Committee, and for her impact in the field of technology. Neria presents regionally and nationally on strategic planning, project management, change management, disaster recovery, leadership, and building buy-in.
KRPS and Digital Editor Fred Fletcher-Fierro earned a second-place award from the Kansas Association of Broadcasters for the station's website. Fletcher-Fierro relaunched the website in Fall 2022 as part of a broader initiative to modernize the look, sound, and feel of the public radio station, which operates from the Bicknell Family Center of the Arts at Pitt State. It allowed KRPS staff to maintain and update the site as needed with local news features, breaking news from NPR, calendar events, and more. This was KRPS's first KAB award win in the past decade.
Professor Jim Clanton (Percussion) has performed nearly 50 times since January 2025 with ensembles like the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra, Tulsa Signature Symphony, Tulsa Ballet, Tulsa Opera, and more — even sharing the stage with Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli and American actress and soprano Renée Fleming. He translates those experiences into lessons with his students.
School of Nursing Director Amy Hite (BSN '96, MSN ‘00, EdS ‘19) was inducted into the American Academy of Nursing in Washington, D.C., as a fellow. As a member, she will help advance the organization’s mission to improve health and achieve health equity by impacting policy through nursing leadership, innovation, and science. She is one of two nurses selected from Kansas and the first from Pitt State to be chosen.
Assistant Professor Carol Meza (BS '14) was named a Woman of Distinction by the Pittsburg Area Chamber of Commerce. An Army combat veteran and Purple Heart recipient, Meza is a founder of Outside the Wire Veterans Foundation, which provides outdoor therapy and VA disability claims assistance for veterans, and serves on the Governor’s Military Council. She was crowned Mrs. Kansas-America 2025, using her platform to advocate for veterans and their families.