Published: April 26, 2024 By

jeremiah teaching

Accounting Professor Jeremiah Contreras, the new Kala and Shiv Khatri Endowed Faculty Scholar, has created innovations that transform learning from passive to active.

Up-and-coming faculty receive ringing endorsements by way of the new Faculty Scholars initiative.


When Vijay Khatri became the Tandean Rustandy Endowed Dean of the Leeds School of Business, he was already well aware of the caliber of Leeds鈥 faculty. But as he began to learn more about the teaching innovations of the non-tenure track faculty and needle-moving research of the pre-tenured faculty members, it became clear what his first philanthropic initiative at Leeds would be.听

Last fall, he launched the Leeds Faculty Scholars campaign to celebrate and elevate the exceptional research and teaching by Leeds鈥 pre-tenured (and recently tenured) and non-tenure track faculty. At its core, the initiative is a commitment to invest in the development of these up-and-comers across all divisions, unlocking their power to positively affect the greatest number of student lives and produce more world-changing research.听

鈥淲e want to acknowledge the incredible talent we have here in our junior faculty members, who show great promise in their teaching and research. This is an impactful way to support their growth,鈥 says Dean Khatri. He notes that not only does the award honor excellence, but it also helps recruit and retain top talent.

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鈥淭he award has significantly empowered my students and me to break new ground in our research.鈥

David Dobolyi, Caruso Faculty Scholar, assistant professor in organizational leadership and information analytics

Each Faculty Scholar has received the prestigious distinction of a named position. With it comes support to an annual expense account to further their teaching, research and professional development.听

Jennifer Bone, an associate teaching faculty of business communication and now a Craig and Cynthia Smith Faculty Scholar, has already used a portion of her stipend.

鈥淲ith the generous donation received from Craig and Cynthia Smith, I obtained a certificate in leadership and management from Harvard's Online Business Program...that I am certain will benefit my work at [Leeds]. Additionally, I will be presenting a paper on women and leadership at an international conference in Zurich, Switzerland this July,鈥 she says.听

鈥淣either of these opportunities would have been possible without the stipend received from the Faculty Scholar award. I am beyond grateful.鈥

David Dobolyi, assistant professor in the division of Organizational Leadership and Information Analytics, holds the Caruso Faculty Scholar. 鈥淭hanks to the generous support provided by this award, I was able to acquire a cutting-edge graphics card, which has allowed me to accelerate my research on generative AI....The award has significantly empowered my students and me to break new ground in our research.鈥

To date, 13 generous donors have stepped forward to bestow 17听faculty members with the award. Dean Khatri has also stepped up to personally fund two named faculty scholars.


Below are the 17听trailblazers who鈥檝e been named Leeds Faculty Scholars:

Emily Gallagher
Arnold R. Weber Faculty Scholar

David Dobolyi
Caruso Faculty Scholar

Jeremiah Contreras
Kala and Shiv Khatri Endowed Faculty Scholar

Huanan Zhang
Kala and Shiv Khatri Endowed Faculty Scholar

Emily Edwards
Kostalnick Family Faculty Scholar

Tracy Jennings
RK Landmark Faculty Scholar

Nick Reinholtz
RK Landmark Faculty Scholar

Birdie Reznicek
Virginia and Ed Mitchell Faculty Scholar

Brad Werner
JRN听Faculty Scholar

Bryce Schonberger
JRN Nesland Faculty Scholar

Asaf Bernstein
Frank Schiff Faculty Scholar

Ethan Poskanzer
Frank Schiff Faculty Scholar

Nikki Skinner
Craig and Cynthia Smith Faculty Scholar

Jennifer Bone
Craig and Cynthia Smith Faculty Scholar

Christina Lacerenza
Gordon and Susan Trafton Faculty Scholar

Alixandra Barasch
Gordon and Susan Trafton Faculty Scholar

Curtis Sears
Welch-Nguyen Family Faculty Scholar


Additionally this fall, recipients of the Peterson Faculty Scholars and Stone Family Faculty Scholars will be announced.

Get to know the world-class faculty at Leeds.