The Distinguished Professor Award was established in 1986 to recognize and reward faculty members who have achieved national and international distinction. Awardees receive a plaque and an increase in their base salary. This award is administered through the Office of Faculty Affairs.

2024 Recipient

Headshot of Brian Hedlund

Brian Hedlund
Professor, School of Life Sciences
College of Sciences

Dr. Hedlund has been at UNLV for 20 years and is an extremely productive researcher, dedicated teacher, with a strong commitment to professional service. According to one of his nominators, Dr. Hedlund “...is an excellent scientist who has already made lasting and significant contributions to our understanding of microbial biodiversity, deep evolution, and life in terrestrial hot springs, for which he is recognized by his peers as a world-class expert.” Dr. Hedlund teaches courses in microbiology and earns high satisfaction ratings from students within and outside the department.

Past Recipients

Year Recipient Unit
2023 Francis Cucinotta Department of Health Physics and Diagnostic Sciences
2022 Nancy Rapoport Boyd School of Law
2021 Bradley Donohue Department of Psychology
2020 Bing Zhang Department of Physics & Astronomy
2019 Daniel Allen Department of Psychology
2018 Kwang Kim Department of Mechanical Engineering
2018 Debra Martin Department of Anthropology
2018 Department of Kinesiology and Nutrition Sciences
2013 Dennis Lindle Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
2011 Christopher Kearney Department of Psychology
2010 Alan Simmons Department of Anthropology
2008 Thomas Wright Department of History
2006 Hal Rothman Department of History
2004 Robert Boehm Department of Mechanical Engineering
2003 Joseph(“Andy”) Fry Department of History
2002 Martha Knack Department of Anthropology
2002 Mark Weinstein Department of English
2000 Virko Baley Department of Music
1998 Catherine Bellver Department of World Languages and Cultures
1998 Joseph McCullough Department of English
1996 Darlene Unrue Department of English
1995 Lawrence Golding Department of Kinesiology
1991 Maurice Finocchiaro Department of Philosophy
1990 Mohamed Yousef Department of Biological Sciences
1989 Marie France Hilgar Department of Foreign Languages
1988 James Deacon Department of Environmental and Public Affairs
1987 Sheilagh Brooks Department of Anthropology

2023 Selection Committee Members