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CCA names faculty award winners

The West Virginia University College of Creative Arts has selected its annual faculty awards.

Each year, the college awards for Excellence in Research and Creative Activity; Outstanding Teacher; Outstanding Service; and Adjunct Faculty Excellence.

“The recognized achievements are remarkable this year,” said Dean Keith Jackson. “Though each awardee is being recognized for fulfilling a specific part our mission, they all serve as role models to our students who will be leaders in the arts for generations to come. Reading about these winners and their accomplishments, you truly realize the reach and power of the arts in society today.”

Kristina Olson

Kristina Olson, professor of art history and associate director of the School of Art & Design, received the Excellence in Research and Creative Activity Award.

An active researcher, Olson’s research traditionally includes writing and criticism about modern and contemporary art and architecture, more recent presentations and writings have included research into contemporary social practice art and its historical roots.

Last year, Olson was heavily involved in the publishing of “Social Practice Art in Turbulent Times: The Revolution Will Be Live.” She proposed the publication to the publisher, served as the primary editor and wrote the chapter titled “Eat Me: Social Practice Art and the Politics of Food.”

Olson was granted funding in 2019 for two upcoming projects. She received a grant from the WVU Humanities Center to help fund “Appalachian Futures,” a year-long exhibition hosted by the WVU Libraries that addresses the current dominant narratives about Appalachia in a new way, by looking at how people of Appalachia have worked and will work to rewrite their own story. Olson also received an Academic Conference Grant for the Speculative Appalachia Conference. This mini-conference will take a multidisciplinary and activist approach that centers humanistic inquiry and the creative works of communities.

Olson has served as a contributing editor for ARTPULSE since 2013, most recently writing a feature review of the 2019 Whitney Biennial, generally regarded as one of the leading biennial exhibitions of contemporary American Art. Olson participated in two panels during the 2019 SECAC Conference in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

The College of Creative Arts Outstanding Service Award was given to General Hambrick and Travis Stimeling.

General Hambrick

Hambrick is an associate professor of dance and musical theatre in the School of Theatre & Dance. Over the last year, he has spent a significant amount of time not only providing education to his students at WVU, but around the state.

Hambrick works with Morgantown’s University High School choreographing and assisting the director in the spring musical. He also volunteers with the Morgantown Theatre Company as a choreographer and serves on the Board of Directors. The connections and relations Hambrick has fostered in these positions have brought many talented students to WVU’s arts programs.

In the School of Theatre & Dance, Hambrick founded New World Ensemble, a musical theatre performance group which originally offered BFA musical theatre students extra performance opportunities. Now, Hambrick has opened up the group to students from all majors, bringing performance experiences to all students while spreading the arts throughout campus and WVU’s communities.

In 2019, Hambrick was awarded the Outstanding Mentor recognition by the West Virginia Governor’s School for the Arts. The award is given to a mentor that has been an integral part of the growth and development of West Virginia’s top art students, as voted on by those students during a summer intensive programs.

Travis Stimeling

Associate Professor of Musicology Travis Stimeling served the School of Music on the Executive Committee; Faculty Evaluation, Promotion and Tenure Committee, Graduate Committee; Committee for Undergraduate Academic Standards; Inclusivity Task Force; Coordinator of the Musicology and Ethnomusicology Area; and as chair of the Ethnomusicology Postdoc Search Committee. Stimeling also completed a year-long research project and writing of the institutional history of the School of Music and reviewed every degree program and authored a more than 100,000-word self-study document for the National Association of Schools of Music. For WVU’s College of Creative Arts, he served on the Research Advisory Committee.

Stimeling is a board member of WVU Press and WVU Humanities Center Advisory. He was also a committee member for the Honors College EXCEL Program Steering Committee, NEH Next Generation Humanities PhD Planning Grant Advisory Committee and a Humanities Center Position Search. At the request of the university provost, Stimeling served as a core member of WVU’s Strategic Transformation Team.

Stimeling served his profession internationally, nationally and regionally through activities for the Journal of Society for American Music, Ethnomusicology Review, WVU Press, Notes: The Quarterly Journal of the Music Library Association, Oakland University, and Oxford University Press, among many others.

Jeffrey Moser

The School of Art & Design’s Jeffrey Moser received the Outstanding Teacher Award. He advises 27 undergraduate students while teaching a full course-load. Moser’s course materials are well-respected across campus for their interdisciplinary approach. 

He continually collaborates with the Reed School of Media and Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources Department of Computer Science. Among these notable collaborations is his Advanced Interactive Design course working with Dr. VanScoy’s Computer Science Game Development course to create video games, websites and 3D printed game consoles based on local West Virginia history.

Of Moser’s work, a peer reviewer stated “after watching Professor Moser’s constructive criticism and positive reinforcement during his critique, it reaffirms my belief that he is a great asset for the university. Professor Moser was very informative and gave great examples and posed many insightful questions to help the students problem-solve issues in their projects.”

Carson McTeer

Lecturer Carson McTeer in the School of Music received the Adjunct Faculty Excellence Award. On the faculty since 2015, McTeer teaches applied instruction in tuba and euphonium and coaches brass chamber music. McTeer continually maintains a 10-15 member studio of students who win internal and external awards. 

McTeer maintains a national reputation as a performer, performing as a member of the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra, River City Brass Band and Colorado Music Festival. He has also performed with the symphony orchestras of Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Baltimore, Utah, St. Louis, Colorado, Buffalo and Louisville in recent years. 

McTeer’s reputation as an outstanding teacher and performer attracts high quality students to WVU. Over the course of his tenure at WVU, he has received very high ratings from his students for teaching effectiveness and learning.