The February 2025 Core Values Award for Creativity has been awarded to Samantha Lawson, Assistant Professor in the Department of Physician Assistant Studies. The nomination criteria for an ideal candidate is:
- Individuals who consistently demonstrate creativity in their approach to work, problem-solving, or project development.
- Those who bring fresh ideas and inspire others to think differently.
The person who nominated Samantha for this award had the following to say about her:
“Samantha Lawson demonstrates creativity in her approach to teaching and student engagement consistently, both in the classroom and outside of it. She has redesigned an entire course series that had previously felt stale and outdated by infusing it with creative activities, real-world application, and practical information. Because of her efforts, the courses in this series have seen improved student feedback and evaluations. In her lectures, she is constantly brainstorming new ways to get the students engaged by incorporating active learning and creative processes like artistic expression. She exemplifies the marriage of art and medicine and models how these two disciplines relate for students. Additionally, she is the faculty coordinator for the PA Heroes Against Hunger 5K,which has seen record-breaking fundraising for the Arkansas Food Bank under her leadership. This last year, she demonstrated innovative creativity by coordinating a “Pie A Professor” event in which students raised money for the foodbank by deciding which faculty would be “pied” (innocuously with a tin of whipped cream, of course). These are just a few examples of how Samantha Lawson demonstrates creativity in all she does at the PA Program, both for students and the community. She is tremendously deserving of this spotlight.”