Nerida Ellerton and Cheri Simonds will be honored with the Outstanding University Researcher Award at the Founders Day celebration on February 16.

Nerida Ellerton, Department of Mathematics
Ellerton joined Illinois State in 2002 after an already distinguished career in mathematics education in Australia and New Zealand. In her time here she has published six books, 54 articles/chapters, several dozen conference papers, and has been principal investigator (PI) or co-PI on numerous grants, including large United States Department of Education and National Science Foundation grants.

According to Department of Mathematics Chair George Seelinger, “Professor Ellerton’s work has been called seminal, groundbreaking, distinctive for its quality in depth and scope, impressive, impactful…of superior quality and exceptional importance as recognized by both national and international peers.”

Cheri Simonds, School of Communication
Simonds joined Illinois State in 1997. Since then she has published 11 editions of five different books in communication pedagogy/instructional communication. In addition, she has authored 31 journal articles, six book chapters, 15 instructional articles, four invited essays, three forum essays, 11 instructional videos, and several dozen competitive conference papers. She is a national leader in the development, assessment, and administration of basic course delivery. In addition, she is a National Communication Association Distinguished Faculty Award recipient and has also edited Communication Education, the leading journal in the field.