Industrial Engineering Professor Recognized with Distinguished Leadership Award

The Honors College recognized five faculty and one staff member at the annual Honors College Faculty Reception on Tuesday, Nov. 6. The awards were in two categories, the Distinguished Faculty Award and the Distinguished Leadership Award.

Image of bronze honors college medallion“Honors faculty and staff work extremely hard to support students, and their work can often go unnoticed and underappreciated,” said Honors College Dean Lynda Coon. “The six honored here have consistently put students first and exceeded expectations in their lifetime dedication to teaching, research, mentorship and leadership.”

The recipients of both the Distinguished Faculty Award and the Distinguished Leadership Award were presented with a bronze medallion designed by honors alumnus Hank Kaminsky. Each winner also received $1,000 in academic funding.

Photo of C. Richard CassadyReceiving the Distinguished Leadership Award from Industrial Engineering, C. Richard Cassady, professor and director of the First-Year Engineering Program.

For several years, Cassady served as the industrial engineering representative on the College of Engineering Honors Council, and for two years he has served as director of the College of Engineering Honors Program. His most notable contributions to the Honors College are the creation and coordination of the First-Year Engineering Honors Research Experience, which has given more than 600 first-year students valuable research and presentation experience over its 11-year history.

Cassady also was a principal player in the establishment of the First-Year Engineering Program and has served as its director since its creation. The program was intended to address concerns about the retention and graduation rates associated with first-year engineering students, and during his time as director of the program, retention and graduation rates within the College of Engineering have increased by about 10 percent.

Cassady has previously received the 2016 Albert G. Holzman Distinguished Educator Award, the top teaching award given by the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers; the 2006 Charles and Nadine Baum Faculty Teaching Award; and the 2005 Imhoff Outstanding Teacher Award from the College of Engineering. He is an elected member of the University of Arkansas Teaching Academy. He is a fellow of the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineering, a fellow of the Society of Reliability Engineers, and a member of the Virginia Tech Industrial and Systems Engineering Advisory Board.

Photo of C. Richard Cassady with robotics studentHis community service includes robotics education in the Springdale School District and leadership in FIRST LEGO League Arkansas. He is tournament director for the FIRST LEGO League Razorback Invitational, a 72-team, international event held on the University of Arkansas campus. He is also co-founder and coach of Root Negative One, a FIRST Tech Challenge team affiliated with the Don Tyson School of Innovation in Springdale. Root Negative One was one of four finalists for the 2017-18 FIRST Tech Challenge World Championship. For his community and professional service, he received the 2017 Dean’s Award of Excellence, Outstanding Public Service Award.

Read the full Newswire article here.

Nov. 02, 2018