Outstanding Scholarship Award

The Outstanding Scholarship Award is given each year to a faculty member* from one of the following colleges in recognition of their excellent record of scholarship and research at Western:

  • College of Business and Economics
  • Fairhaven College of Interdisciplinary Studies
  • College of Fine and Performing Arts
  • College of the Environment
  • Woodring College of Education
  • Western Libraries

*Please Note: Only Assistant Professors, Associate Professors, or Professors are eligible for this award. (Instructors, Lecturers, Senior Instructors are not eligible. Please check the staff directory for faculty titles.

Nominations for the 2026 Outstanding Scholarship Award are now OPEN. Please use the WWU Faculty Nomination Form to submit a nomination by the January 23, 2026 deadline.

 

Selection Criteria

The following criteria and policies are meant to secure comprehensive evaluation:

  1. No person shall receive this award more than once.
  2. Tenure is not a requirement, but the candidate must be a full-time member of the faculty and should have at least three years of service at Western.
  3. The award is based on research and creative activities and materials submitted should address these two areas.
  4. While the award is intended to recognize all of one’s excellence in scholarship while at Western, supporting research and scholarship materials from the candidate shall be limited to no more than five years, but should include the last three.
  5. Nominees will be asked if they wish to be considered, and, if so, will be required to submit supporting materials to the evaluation committee.
  6. Only the name of the winner of the award will be announced on completion of the process; the names of other candidates shall not be published at any time during or after the process.

Award/Recognition

The award recipient will be presented with a Western medallion award at the Celebration of Excellence Awards in May. This award also includes a payment of $2,500, made possible by the Western Washington University Foundation. (Please note: for each payment, the University also contributes approximately $1,553.66 for tax related deductibles plus benefits for a total expenditure of approximately $3,553 per award). 

Award Administration

College of Fine and Performing Arts and Western Libraries Dean’s Office (rotating).

The 2026 award will be administered by the College of Fine and Performing Arts. Please contact the CFPA Dean's Office for any questions about the award.

Nomination Process

Only WWU faculty members, department chairs, and academic deans may nominate their faculty colleagues for a Scholarship/Research award. Nominations for the 2026 award are now OPEN. Please follow the nomination form link listed in the award description above to nominate someone by January 23, 2026. Thank you for taking the time to nominate a deserving colleague!

2025

Dr. Marco Hatch wearing a navy blue oxford shirt and WWU award medallion

Marco Hatch - Environmental Sciences

Marco Hatch is an associate professor of Environmental Science at the College of the Environment. He is a marine ecologist with a Ph.D. in Biological Oceanography from Scripps Institution of Oceanography and a member of the Samish Indian Nation.

Marco's robust research program weaves traditional ecological knowledge and marine science through the exploration of food systems. His work has received significant external funding: He is currently co-principal investigator for the NSF-funded Native Food, Energy, Water Systems INCLUDES Alliance, co-principal investigator for Active Societal Participation in Research and Education (ASPIRE), and Pacific Northwest Hub lead for the Center for Braiding Indigenous Knowledges and Science. He’s also a Pew Marine Conservation Fellow.

Outside of his work at Western, Marco is also on the boards of the Washington Chapter of the Nature Conservancy, the Coast Salish Youth Coalition and the Clam Garden Network. Prior to WWU Marco directed the Salish Sea Research Center at Northwest Indian College.

Past Awardees

1 awardee(s) for this year

2024 Awardees

Dr. Shuo Li stands in front of Old Main wearing a WWU polo shirt and an award medallion

Shuo Li - Accounting

Shuo Li is an associate professor of accounting in the College of Business and Economics. He obtained his Ph.D. in accounting from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, his Master of Science in accounting from Indiana University Kelley School of Business, and his Bachelor of Science in management information systems from Shanghai University of Finance and Economics. Since joining Western in 2017, he has published over 15 papers in highly ranked peer-review journals, such as Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, and Advances in Accounting.

Shuo's research areas are empirical in nature with innovative designs and significant public policy implications, particularly in the fields of financial reporting and auditing. His primary research interests encompass financial reporting, audit pricing, credit risk, international business, and information intermediaries. Specifically, his research focuses on understanding (1) the informational and monitoring roles of media in the capital market, (2) the impact of CEOs’ personal attributes (e.g., political ideology and personal campaign contributions) on their firms’ financial reporting practices, (3) the economic consequences of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and (4) various risk factors determining the audit pricing and credit risk.