Merit & Outstanding Performance Awards
Faculty covered by the University Faculty Association (UFA) or Missoula College Faculty Association (MCFA) Collective Bargaining Agreements may receive a Merit Award or Outstanding Performance Award for exceptional contributions: above normal performance in at least two (2) of the three (3) areas of teaching, scholarship/creative activity, or public service; or outstanding performance or special recognition in at least one (1) of these areas, with normal performance in the remaining areas of assigned duties. Faculty who are not members of either bargaining unit, including most Alexander Blewett III School of Law faculty, are not covered by these provisions and should refer to their applicable faculty handbook.
Eligibility is based on the time since the documentation was prepared for the last granted award or the most recent seven (7) sequential years, whichever is less. Deans rank candidates by priority, and appeals may be made if ranking errors are demonstrated.
For more information regarding University Standards for faculty advancement please see CBA & MCFA 10.000. For specific information on the number of awards and award amounts, please see UFA CBA §§ 13.240 & 13.245 and MCFA CBA § 13.240.
Merit Award Recipients 2026
| First Name | Last Name | College | Academic Unit | Award |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| King-Ries | Andrew | Alexander Blewett III School of Law | Alexander Blewett III School of Law | Merit |
| Conley | Anna | Alexander Blewett III School of Law | Alexander Blewett III School of Law | Merit |
| Van Kley | Constance | Alexander Blewett III School of Law | Alexander Blewett III School of Law | Merit |
| Leah | Diehl | College of Business | Department of Accounting and Finance | Merit |
| Lisa | Eiler | College of Business | Department of Accounting and Finance | Merit |
| Emily | Plant | College of Business | Department of Management and Marketing | Merit |
| Tyler | Talbot | College of Business | Department of Management and Marketing | Merit |
| Colleen | Carew | College of Health | School of Social Work | Merit |
| Ginger | Collins | College of Health | School of Speech, Language, Hearing, and Occupational Sciences | Merit |
| Katie | Holick | College of Health | Department of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences | Merit |
| Hannah | Knipp | College of Health | School of Social Work | Merit |
| Erin | Landguth | College of Health | School of Public and Community Health Sciences | Merit |
| Jessica | Liddell | College of Health | School of Social Work | Merit |
| Julia | Mazzarella | College of Health | School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science | Merit |
| Caitlin | Miller | College of Health | School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science | Merit |
| Jenner | Minto | College of Health | Department of Pharmacy Practice | Merit |
| Valerie | Moody | College of Health | School of Integrative Physiology and Athletic Training | Merit |
| Jenna | Musick | College of Health | School of Speech, Language, Hearing, and Occupational Sciences | Merit |
| Curtis | Noonan | College of Health | School of Public and Community Health Sciences | Merit |
| John | Quindry | College of Health | School of Integrative Physiology and Athletic Training | Merit |
| Claire | Arcenas | College of Humanities and Social Sciences | Department of History | Merit |
| Scott | Arcenas | College of Humanities and Social Sciences | Department of History | Merit |
| Robert | Baker | College of Humanities and Social Sciences | Department of English | Merit |
| Brian | Blanchfield | College of Humanities and Social Sciences | Department of English | Merit |
| Jackson | Bunch | College of Humanities and Social Sciences | Department of Sociology and Criminology | Merit |
| Bridget | Clarke | College of Humanities and Social Sciences | Department of Philosophy | Merit |
| Megan | Cullinan | College of Humanities and Social Sciences | Department of Communication Studies | Merit |
| Wade | Davies | College of Humanities and Social Sciences | Department of History | Merit |
| Madison | Gerdes | College of Humanities and Social Sciences | Department of Sociology and Criminology | Merit |
| Quan | Ha | College of Humanities and Social Sciences | Department of English | Merit |
| Joel | Iverson | College of Humanities and Social Sciences | Department of Communication Studies | Merit |
| Anya | Jabour | College of Humanities and Social Sciences | Department of History | Merit |
| Derek | Kellenberg | College of Humanities and Social Sciences | Department of Economics | Merit |
| Greg | Larson | College of Humanities and Social Sciences | Department of Communication Studies | Merit |
| Douglas | MacDonald | College of Humanities and Social Sciences | Department of Anthropology | Merit |
| Greg | Machek | College of Humanities and Social Sciences | Department of Psychology | Merit |
| Jannine | Montauban | College of Humanities and Social Sciences | Department of World Languages and Cultures | Merit |
| Katrina | Mullan | College of Humanities and Social Sciences | Department of Economics | Merit |
| Anna | Prentiss | College of Humanities and Social Sciences | Department of Anthropology | Merit |
| Christopher | Preston | College of Humanities and Social Sciences | Department of Philosophy | Merit |
| Erin | Saldin | College of Humanities and Social Sciences | Department of English | Merit |
| Matthew | Strohl | College of Humanities and Social Sciences | Department of Philosophy | Merit |
| Kyle | Volk | College of Humanities and Social Sciences | Department of History | Merit |
| Erin | Wecker | College of Humanities and Social Sciences | Department of English | Merit |
| Douglas | Brinkerhoff | College of Science | Department of Computer Science | Merit |
| Jedediah | Brodie | College of Science | Division of Biological and Biomedical Sciences | Merit |
| Matthew | Church | College of Science | Division of Biological and Biomedical Sciences | Merit |
| James | Elser | College of Science | Division of Biological and Biomedical Sciences | Merit |
| Deborah | Good | College of Science | Department of Physics and Astronomy | Merit |
| Robert | Hall | College of Science | Division of Biological and Biomedical Sciences | Merit |
| Lu | Hu | College of Science | Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry | Merit |
| John | Lodmell | College of Science | Division of Biological and Biomedical Sciences | Merit |
| Winsor | Lowe | College of Science | Division of Biological and Biomedical Sciences | Merit |
| Scott | Miller | College of Science | Division of Biological and Biomedical Sciences | Merit |
| Anh | Nguyen | College of Science | Department of Computer Science | Merit |
| Cory | Palmer | College of Science | Department of Mathematical Sciences | Merit |
| Frederick | Peck | College of Science | Department of Mathematical Sciences | Merit |
| Zedong | Peng | College of Science | Department of Computer Science | Merit |
| Meredith | Zettlemoyer | College of Science | Division of Biological and Biomedical Sciences | Merit |
| James | Bailey | College of the Arts and Media | School of Visual and Media Arts | Merit |
| Lee | Banville | College of the Arts and Media | School of Journalism | Merit |
| Alessia | Carpoca | College of the Arts and Media | School of Theatre and Dance | Merit |
| Michael | Cassens | College of the Arts and Media | School of Visual and Media Arts | Merit |
| Matthew | Hamon | College of the Arts and Media | School of Visual and Media Arts | Merit |
| Valerie | Hedquist | College of the Arts and Media | School of Visual and Media Arts | Merit |
| Christopher | Kirkpatrick | College of the Arts and Media | School of Music | Merit |
| Lisa | Krantz | College of the Arts and Media | School of Journalism | Merit |
| Ashley | Rezvani | College of the Arts and Media | School of Visual and Media Arts | Merit |
| Robert | Tapper | College of the Arts and Media | School of Music | Merit |
| Erin | Baucom | Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library | Mansfield Library | Merit |
| Jessica | Dougherty-McMichael | Missoula College | Department of Applied Arts and Sciences | Merit |
| Lauren | Fern | Missoula College | Department of Applied Arts and Sciences | Merit |
| John | Freer | Missoula College | Department of Industrial Technology | Merit |
| Wilbert | Gahagan | Missoula College | Department of Business Technology | Merit |
| Erica | Allen | Phyllis J. Washington College of Education | Department of Educational Leadership | Merit |
| Kate | Brayko | Phyllis J. Washington College of Education | Department of Teaching and Learning | Merit |
| Kirsten | Murray | Phyllis J. Washington College of Education | Department of Counseling | Merit |
| Jeb | Puryear | Phyllis J. Washington College of Education | Department of Teaching and Learning | Merit |
| Keith | Bosak | W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation | Department of Society and Conservation | Merit |
| Payton | Gardner | W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation | Department of Geosciences | Merit |
| Erim | Gomez | W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation | Department of Society and Conservation | Merit |
| Kelsey | Jencso | W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation | Department of Forest Management | Merit |
| Anna | Klene | W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation | Department of Ecosystem and Conservation Sciences | Merit |
| Angela | Luis | W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation | Department of Ecosystem and Conservation Sciences | Merit |
| Martin | Nie | W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation | Department of Society and Conservation | Merit |
| Margiana | Petersen-Rockney | W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation | Environmental Studies Program | Merit |
| Jennifer | Thomsen | W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation | Department of Society and Conservation | Merit |
Outstanding Performance Award Recipients 2026
| First Name | Last Name | College | Academic Unit | Award |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alexa | Rauser | College of Business | Department of Accounting and Finance | OPA |
| Troy | Adam | College of Health | School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science | OPA |
| Nick | Cromidas | College of Health | School of Integrative Physiology and Athletic Training | OPA |
| Anya | Leyhe | College of Health | School of Speech, Language, Hearing, and Occupational Sciences | OPA |
| Rob | Browning | College of Humanities and Social Sciences | Department of English | OPA |
| Caroline | Lonski | College of Humanities and Social Sciences | Department of World Languages and Cultures | OPA |
| Lily | Scott | College of Humanities and Social Sciences | Department of History | OPA |
| Robert | Stubblefield | College of Humanities and Social Sciences | Department of English | OPA |
| Eric | John | College of Science | Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry | OPA |
| Sam | Luther | College of Science | Department of Computer Science | OPA |
| Adam | Collins | College of the Arts and Media | School of Music | OPA |
| Jerod | Peitsmeyer | College of the Arts and Media | School of Visual and Media Arts | OPA |
| Mark | Plonsky | College of the Arts and Media | School of Theatre and Dance | OPA |
| Allison | Dowd | Missoula College | Department of Industrial Technology | OPA |
| Eric | Gren | Missoula College | Department of Health Professions | OPA |
| Jaime | Middleton | Missoula College | Department of Applied Arts and Sciences | OPA |
| Tim | Peterson | Missoula College | Department of Industrial Technology | OPA |
| Arianna | Vokos | Phyllis J. Washington College of Education | Department of Counseling | OPA |
| Kira | Minehart | W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation | Department of Society and Conservation | OPA |