Faculty Earn National, State Honors During Winter Break
Four University of Virginia College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences faculty members were recognized over the winter break with prestigious awards honoring excellence in research, teaching, and public impact.
Steven Majewski, Scott Doney, Justene Hill Edwards and Nizar Hermes received honors from leading professional and academic organizations, underscoring the breadth of scholarship across the College.
According to Christa Acampora, Buckner W. Clay Professor of Philosophy and dean of Arts & Sciences, the awards reflect the scholarly range and impact that define the faculty of A&S and the excellence the school seeks to foster.
“Our strategic vision includes creating a vibrant academic community where talented faculty thrive, push boundaries in research and scholarship, and enrich the educational experience for our students. Professors Majewski, Doney, Edwards and Hermes exemplify that mission in action.”
Majewski named Fellow of the American Astronomical Society
Steven Majewski, Vanderbilt professor of astronomy, was named a 2026 Fellow of the American Astronomical Society, one of the field’s highest honors. Fewer than 0.5% of the society’s members are selected each year.
Majewski was recognized for his contributions to understanding the structure and formation of the Milky Way, his leadership in near-infrared instrumentation and large-scale astronomical surveys, and his longstanding commitment to training the next generation of astronomers.
Founded in 1899, the American Astronomical Society is the major international organization for professional astronomers and astronomy educators. The fellows program, established in 2020, recognizes extraordinary achievement and service to the astronomical sciences.
"Steve’s selection as an AAS Fellow is a significant recognition, placing him among an elite subset of the Society's members," said UVA astronomy professor Kelsey Johnson, who is interim associate dean of undergraduate education for A&S and who recently stepped down as president of the American Astronomical Society. "This honor reflects Steve's exceptional contributions to our field and enduring commitment to advancing astronomy.”
Doney receives SCHEV Outstanding Faculty Award
Scott Doney, the inaugural Joe D. and Helen J. Kington Professor in Environmental Change, was named a recipient of the 2026 Outstanding Faculty Award by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia.
The award recognizes faculty at Virginia’s colleges and universities who exemplify excellence in teaching, scholarship and service. Doney is one of 12 recipients selected statewide from 81 nominations.
An environmental scientist whose work spans oceanography, climate science and biogeochemistry, Doney uses field data, satellite observations and numerical models to study how marine ecosystems and the global carbon cycle respond to climate change. He previously served as assistant director for ocean climate science and policy in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
Award recipients will be honored at a ceremony in Richmond in March.
Edwards wins Frederick Douglass Book Prize
Justene Hill Edwards, associate professor of history, won the 2025 Frederick Douglass Book Prize for “Savings and Trust: The Rise and Betrayal of the Freedman’s Bank,” published by W. W. Norton & Company. 
Awarded by Yale University’s Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition and the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, the prize is one of the most distinguished honors for scholarship on slavery, abolition and resistance. It includes a $25,000 award.
The prize jury praised Edwards’ book for its rigorous research and clear explanation of the nineteenth-century financial system, as well as its focus on the lived experiences of Black Americans who entrusted their savings to the Freedman’s Bank following the Civil War.
The award will be presented at a ceremony in New York City in February.
Hermes wins MLA Scaglione Prize for Middle Eastern Studies
Nizar Hermes, a professor in the Department of Middle Eastern and South Asian Languages and Cultures, received the Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione Prize for Middle Eastern Studies from the Modern Language Association of America for his book Of Lost Cities: The Maghribī Poetic Imagination (McGill-Queen’s University Press).
The annual prize honors an outstanding scholarly work in Middle Eastern or Middle Eastern diaspora literary or linguistic studies. In its citation, the selection committee praised Hermes’ analysis of Maghribī poetry for its exploration of elegiac, nostalgic and affirmative modes that reimagine loss, place and poetic achievement.
Hermes' award will be presented at the MLA Annual Convention in Toronto in January.
