A Sul Ross State University associate professor of Education and a student of Communication Studies  are recipients of the 2024 Regents’ Awards, which were announced by the Texas State University System Foundation earlier in August.

The Regents’ Awards were established in 2007 to honor faculty, students and employees who have made extraordinary contributions to their institution, community and state. Nominees undergo a series of rigorous evaluations by peer faculty and external reviewers.

Dr. Jennifer Miller-Ray is a recipient of the 2024 Regents’ Teacher Award, which recognizes faculty for outstanding teaching, contributions to the development of courses, and the use of innovative teaching methods, among other criteria.

Dr. Miller-Ray is the 2023 Teacher of the Year at SRSU. She is a cognitive scientist specializing in STEM literacy and has designed makerspace events for multiple museums to include the Perot Museum, the Kennedy Space Center, NASA STEM camps, the Indigenous Education Institute and public libraries, and implemented makerspace STEM initiatives in over 30 public schools. She also sponsors the Texas State Teachers’ Aspiring Educators student club.

Dr. Miller-Ray was also chosen as the Citizen CATE Southwest Texas eclipse coordinator and received a $10,000 American Astronomical Society mini-grant to fund outreach and education research for the 2024 total eclipse in April.

Jacob Spurlock, a junior Communication Studies major, was chosen for the Regents’ Student Scholar Award.

Student Scholars are nominated by institution presidents and selected by the chancellor based on their outstanding academic achievement and scholarship, leadership abilities and contributions to the institution and their community. In addition to a commemorative medallion and board resolution, Regents’ Student Scholars receive $5,000 credited toward their educational expenses.

Student Scholar award winners will be formally recognized at the November 2024 Board of Regents meeting in Beaumont. Regents’ Teacher award winners will receive formal recognition at the February 2025 Board of Regents meeting in Austin.

For more information, visit www.tsus.edu/foundation/regents-awards.html.