Faculty To Be Honored As 2021 Notable Women Of ETSU

From East Tennessee State University:

November 9, 2021

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – The Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program at East Tennessee State University has announced Dr. Aruna Kilaru and Vanessa Mayoraz as the 2021 recipients of the Notable Women of ETSU award.

The two award recipients will be honored at 5 p.m. on Nov. 17 during the 20th Annual Notable Women of ETSU Colloquium. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the awards ceremony and colloquium will be held via Zoom. The public is invited, program leaders said, and current and former students of the honorees are especially welcome.

The event highlights the expertise and accomplishments of women at ETSU, provides a forum for the exchange of ideas, research and projects generated by women faculty, and identifies women faculty whose work advances the understanding of women and their lives.

Kilaru, a professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at ETSU, has earned over $1.1 million in grant funds since 2011, including support from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Science Foundation. Kilaru is currently a finalist in the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program and the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s Science & Technology Policy Fellowship, both highly competitive programs. She is an appointed member of The American Society of Plant Biologists for the Women in Plant Biology Committee, a member of the Tennessee Statewide Dual Credit Redesign Team for Plant Sciences and she is the elected chair for Gordon Research Conferences on Plant Lipids, an honor deferred to 2023. Kilaru has more than 30 peer-reviewed publications.

In addition to her research profile, Kilaru is dedicated to mentorship and service at ETSU. Since arriving in the U.S. 20 years ago, Kilaru has mentored 60 students. In 2019, she received the Outstanding Graduate Faculty Mentor Award at ETSU. She currently serves as a member of the Synthetic Biology/Bio Builder Working Group and the University Research Advisory Council.

“She contributes to the university mission and inspires co-workers and students to have higher standards to reach their goals and dreams. This is a rare gift and one that Dr. Kilaru shares unselfishly with all she meets,” wrote one of her nominators.

Mayoraz is an associate professor in the Department of Art and Design, where she is responsible for developing Extended Media, an area of study rooted in an interdisciplinary investigation that blends traditional and extended media mediums. She earned a Master of Fine Arts in Art in Public Spaces and New Artistic Strategies from Bauhaus Universität Weimar in Germany, and she studied sculpture at the School of The Art Institute of Chicago. Mayoraz’s scholarship focuses on themes of social engagement and environmental concerns that encourage collaborative participation from her audience. Her work has appeared in eight solo exhibitions and over 30 group exhibitions around the world, including in Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, France, Poland, South Korea and Serbia. As both an invited speaker and artist-in-residence, Mayoraz has shared her work in the U.S., including in Florida, Tennessee, Washington and Illinois, as well as internationally in Germany, Italy, Armenia and France.

Beyond her global recognition, Mayoraz is committed to educational innovation and community service. Since 2016, Mayoraz has been a member of the Artist Selection Committee for LOCATE Arts in Nashville and the Johnson City Public Art Committee, which she now chairs. She also worked on the Innovative/PPE (personal protective equipment) Committee for the ETSU Health Clinic during the COVID-19 pandemic, where she oversaw material research, the collection of donated fabric and the coordination of a mask-sewing team that resulted in the production of over 2,000 cloth masks for the clinic’s health team.

“Vanessa’s dedication to our students’ intellectual, creative and professional growth is complemented by her commitment to generating opportunities for experiential learning, especially in the domain of community service and engagement,” one of her nominators wrote.

For more information, contact Dr. Chelsea Wessels, interim director of the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program, at 423-439-6672 or wessels@etsu.edu. For disability accommodations, call the ETSU Office of Disability Services at 423-439-8346.

This press release was produced by East Tennessee State University. The views expressed are the author's own.