Programming and Awards
GPSC Annual Awardees
These awards honor outstanding achievements in the areas of research, teaching, and service. The council celebrates the hard work, dedication, and exceptional contributions of this year’s recipients. The following is a list of awardees for the 2026 Graduate and Professional Student Awards.
Teaching Award
- Name
- Sarah Akomoh
- Title
- School of Language, Writing and Digital Humanities (Ph.D)
- Name
- Michael Isaiah Edidem
- Title
- Geographic Information Systems and Environmental Modeling (Ph.D)
- Name
- Damilola Adeleye Ojeyemi
- Title
- School of Theater & Dance (Ph.D)
- Name
- Ayodeji T. Oyekunle
- Title
- Political Science (Ph.D. candidate)
- Name
- Saidat Rasaqbalogun
- Title
- Environmental resources & policy (Ph.D. candidate)
Creative Activities and Research Award
The GPSC Creative Activities and Research Award recognizes graduate and professional students who demonstrated outstanding dedication and achievement in their scholarly and creative endeavors within their respective fields.
- Name
- Pervez Khan
- Title
- College of Arts and Media (Ph.D doctoral candidate)
- Name
- Bhagya Sri Kolitha Jayantha
- Title
- Microbiology: synthetic microbiology and metabolic engineering (Ph.D. candidate )
- Name
- Cade Alexander
- Title
- School of Media Arts : MFA in Interdisciplinary Media
- Name
- Ahad Koushan
- Title
- School of Analytics, Finance and Economics (Ph.D candidate)
- Name
- Akinbiyi Bayonle Oyekunle
- Title
- Political Science (Ph.D candidate)
- Name
- Katherine Parker
- Title
- School of Biological Science
- Name
- Johnbosco Nnamso
- Title
- Electrical and Computer Engineering (MS)
- Name
- Samantha McCowen
- Title
- Population Health (Ph.D)
Distinguish & Outstanding Service Award
The GPSC Distinguished & Outstanding Service Award recognizes graduate and professional students, groups, organizations, or individuals who have demonstrated exceptional dedication, commitment, and excellence in service. This award honors those whose contributions have significantly advanced the well-being, success, and overall experience of graduate and professional students at SIUC, while furthering the missions of both GPSC and SIUC.
- Name
- Mehak Saeed
- Title
- Masters of Health Administration/ Health Informatics
- Name
- Basirat Adebimpe Hammed
- Title
- Economics (Ph.D. Candidate, Third Year)
- Name
- Adeshewa O. Ibrahim
- Title
- Political Science (Ph.D Candidate)
- Name
- Samuel O. Idowu
- Title
- English Literature (Ph.D Candidate)
- Name
- Damilola Esther Rotimi
- Title
- Community Health and Preventive Medicine (Ph.D)