Scholarly Excellence Awards

​2025 Scholarly Excellence Award Recipients 

Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture

Cord Eversole is an assistant professor of wildlife ecology and management in Stephen F. Austin State University’s Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture, which he joined as a faculty member in 2022. 

Eversole earned his doctorate in wildlife science from Texas A&M University–Kingsville, with a research focus on the biology, ecology and conservation of reptiles and amphibians. His work explores the complex interactions between vertebrate organisms and their environments, particularly in the context of environmental change and ecological stochasticity. Through his research, he aims to provide science-based insights that enhance our understanding of vertebrate populations across multiple spatiotemporal scales and levels of biological organization. 

Much of Eversole’s fieldwork takes place in the Amazon basin of Bolivia, where he collaborates with rural and Indigenous communities on herpetological and natural resource management projects. In Texas, his research extends to wetland wildlife ecology and management, addressing conservation challenges in dynamic aquatic ecosystems. Through these efforts, he aims to bridge the gap between fundamental ecological research and applied conservation, developing deeper connections between science, local communities and policy to promote sustainable management of wildlife and natural resources.cator, I love the give and take of the academic environment where every day is different,” he said. “It keeps you alive and motivated.”

Dr. Jessica Glasscock is an assistant professor of forest wildlife management at Stephen F. Austin State University, where she has been a faculty member since spring 2019. She is passionate about fostering an environment of mentorship and collaboration, working closely with both students and colleagues to promote knowledge sharing, innovative thinking and collective progress in wildlife management. Central to her approach is the belief that mentorship and collaboration are essential for advancing research and developing the next generation of wildlife conservation leaders. 

Glasscock's current research, driven by collaborative efforts, addresses key challanges in wildlife conservation, including the anthropogenic influences on the state-threatened alligator snapping turtle, the effects of forest management on vertebrate communities, and the partitioning of nutritional resources between native and exotic ungulates. This work, made possible through the invaluable contributions of undergraduate and graduate student researchers, tackles complex conservation challenges and advances our understanding of pressing wildlife issues. Funding for this research has been provided through the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department State Wildlife Grant, U.S. Department of Agriculture McIntire-Stennis Capacity Grant, and the Texas Department of Transportation. 

In addition to her research, Glasscock teaches courses in wildlife species and habitat management, as well as field research techniques. These courses provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary for successful careers in wildlife conservation and resource management. Glasscock is also dedicated to service within both the university and the wildlife profession. Since 2022, she has served as the chair of the SFA Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee and has been a faculty co-advisor to the SFA student chapter of The Wildlife Society since 2019. Her commitment to the profession extends to the Texas chapter of The Wildlife Society, where she has served in various roles, including board member, committee chair and committee member. She currently serves as the president of the Texas chapter.

College of Liberal and Applied Arts

Dr. Ghanem Ayed Elhersh is an assistant professor of media and communication. Since joining Stephen F. Austin State University in 2022, he has established a rigorous research agenda focusing on media narratives, data analytics and audience behavior, particularly within social media engagement and representation in the entertainment industry. Through advanced data analytics, Elhersh investigates the behaviors of audiences and consumers, shedding light on how media storytelling influences perceptions across various sectors. 

His research impact is further recognized through his editorial roles, serving as a co-editor for the “Social Media for Business, Audience Engagement, and Marketing” section of Oxford Intersection (Oxford University Press) and as a reviewer for some leading journals in his field. 

Elhersh teaches a diverse range of courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, including “ Media Research Methods,” “Media and Society,” “Social Media Analytics,” “Social Media Strategies” and “Social Media Content Production.”

College of Sciences and Mathematics 

Dr. Jacob Turner, who joined Stephen F. Austin State University in 2017, is an associate professor of mathematics and statistics, also serving as the department's graduate coordinator. Prior to working at SFA, he served as a manager of a biostatistics group within the Baylor Scott & White Research Institute in Dallas. 

Turner left the health care industry because he wanted the academic freedom to pursue different research interests and make an impact on young, aspiring mathematicians and statisticians. 

Turner’s statistical areas of expertise are biostatistics, bioinformatics and multivariate statistics. His research consists of developing novel statistical methods for different experimental study designs and technologies found in fields including genetics, immunology, health care program evaluations, drug repurposing and evaluation, and psychology. He has advised over a dozen graduate students, and has a working relationship with a global health care provider that has yielded paid internships for multiple graduate students. 

Turner teaches a wide variety of statistical courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels, including statistical methods, regression, predictive modeling, multivariate statistics, time series and mathematical statistics.

James I. Perkins College of Education

Dr. Chrissy Cross is a professor in Stephen F. Austin State University’s Department of Education Studies and assistant chair for the university’s secondary education programs. Cross focuses on grant writing, research in STEM teacher education and responsive program leadership to changing state and federal education laws, institutional expectations and social movements. 

Her research areas include STEM preservice teacher education, qualitative research methods in educational settings and grants. As a member of the American Educational Research Association, Cross has served as the chair, program chair and program co-chair for the Science Teaching and Learning Special Interest Group. She also serves as the appointed SERA Research Grants co-coordinator.

Micky Elliott College of Fine Arts  

Dr. David Alan Lewis, professor of art, has served as Stephen F. Austin State University’s School of Art chair and director. Lewis also is the recipient of several grants, including awards from the Edward and Betty Marcus Foundation and the Kirkland Endowment, as well as many faculty development and research awards. 

Lewis has published extensively, including two major monographs on Erle Loran and John Heliker. His work spans essays on British vorticists, American modernists and contemporary artists, with contributions to the “Georgia Museum of Art’s Magic, Mystery, and Imagination in American Realism,” “The Italian Journal” and other publications. 

Lewis is co-authoring a forthcoming book on Maybelle Richardson Stamper, a noted American printmaker and painter. Future projects include studies of 19th century French caricatures and a monograph of modernist Abraham Walkowitz.

Nelson Rusche College of Business 

Dr. Drew Thornley is an associate professor of legal studies in the Nelson Rusche College of Business, where he also serves as chair of the Research Excellence Committee. He regularly publishes in law reviews and journals on topics ranging from sports law to intellectual property law. 

Thornley is a seven-time Rusche College of Business Faculty Scholar and previous winner of the college’s Outstanding Researcher Award. He is also the co-founder of the college’s “Discovering Business” course and study abroad program. 

He earned a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School, an executive Master of Business Administration from Quantic School of Business and Technology, and a Bachelor of Arts in economics from The University of Alabama. A licensed attorney in Alabama, he owns a consulting business and is a franchise owner.

Faculty Senate Representative

Laura Logan is an experienced academic nurse educator who has served on the DeWitt School of Nursing faculty for nearly 20 years.. She has over 30 years of experience as a nurse, and her practice experience is in medical surgical/critical care and psychiatric nursing. 

Logan has taught many courses in SFA’s nursing program and has served as the course coordinator for several courses, including “Fundamentals in Nursing or Basic Care of the Adult Client,” “Psychiatric Nursing,” “Family Violence” (online course), “Introduction to Nursing” and “Critical Care Nursing.” She currently teaches “Health Assessment Lab” to junior nursing students. She enjoys teaching and encourages her students to invent new ways of working smarter and not harder, always keeping the safety of the patient a top priority. 

Logan serves on multiple national, state, college and school committees and task forces related to nursing education and professional development. She presented a collaborative research study, “Delphi Study: Forecasting Actions Needed to Address the Shortage of Academic Nurse Educators in the United States,” at the national Nurse Education Research Conference.

Scholarly Excellence Award Recipients from Previous Years