Kristin Carlson of the School of Theatre and Dance and Dimitrios Nikolaou of the Department of Economics are the recipients of the Service Initiative Award. They will be honored at the Founders Day Convocation on February 21.
Kristin Carlson
Kristin Carlson
Carlson is an assistant professor who joined the School of Theatre and Dance in 2015.
Much of Carlson’s service has been rooted in the School of Theatre and Dance and the Arts Technology program. Within the community, Carlson has presented at the STEAM conference and at the TEDx in Normal. With the Arts Technology program, she has been involved with committees, done substantial curriculum work, compiled program review revisions, and mentored graduate students. In Theatre and Dance, Carlson has been involved with the curriculum and assessment committee, several search committees, and gives a high level of support to alumni in their pursuit of jobs and graduate programs.
Carlson has served as chair of the Inclusivity and Diversity Subcommittee for the College of Fine Arts’ (CFA) strategic planning effort. She has served as vice chair of the college council and has mentored Fine Arts Floor students. According to Director Janet Wilson, Carlson’s work on the CFA Strategic Plan has “challenged faculty in all schools to consider the importance of diversity and inclusivity in their teaching and student interactions.”
At the University level, Carlson has been a member of the University Appeals Board since 2017 and sits on the Research Computing Advisory Board. Carlson is active in several professional organizations.
Dimitrios Nikolaou
Dimitrios Nikolaou
Nikolaou is an assistant professor who joined the Department of Economics in 2013. Within the department, Nikolaou’s focus has been on curriculum, faculty searches, and departmental faculty status committees. He has also guided and mentored students as the Economics Student Association faculty adviser and has been extensively involved with the Center for Teaching, Learning and Technology as a faculty mentor. He has served as the coordinator for the applied econometrics workshop building strong networks with other academic institutions and served on the Undergraduate Women in Economics committee to encourage women and minorities to consider the field of economics.
Nikolaou has presented at numerous conferences on health economics and has won numerous departmental awards for advisement. He has received grant funding with several grant proposals currently under review. Professionally, he has reviewed academic research for journals such as the Journal of Health Economics and the Scandinavian Journal of Economics.
Nikolaou’s service at the college level includes the College Curriculum Committee. At the University level, since 2017 he has served on the Academic Senate with involvement on the Academic Impact Fund ad hoc committee, the Academic Planning Committee, the Academic Affairs Committee, and Senate Executive Committee. He has served on the Parking Advisory Committee since 2016.
