Honoring Outstanding Faculty and Staff

Five San Diego State University faculty and staff members were recognized for their significant contributions to the university at the President's Leadership Fund Awards ceremony.

The awards honor members of the SDSU community whose work is innovative, forward-thinking, entrepreneurial and which will be a part of the university's continued development as a major public research university.

"On behalf of the entire university, thank you to all of the honorees and donors for their leadership and dedication to excellence," President Hirshman said at the award ceremony. 

Award recipients

• Pete Coulter is a research assistant in the geography department. Coulter trains and supports students in the use of imagery, image processing and GPS. He has developed and published on innovative methods in airborne and satellite remote sensing.  Two of his recent projects are funded by the department of homeland security and involve new techniques for assessing earthquake damage from the air and monitoring border security.

• Gustaaf Jacobs is an associate professor in the aerospace engineering. He is respected for his teaching and supervises a large number of master’s and doctoral students. He also runs an aerospace outreach effort for K-12 students in the MESA program. Jacobs founded the Center for Industrial Training and Engineering Research and collaborates with several European universities. His work on the flow structures in hypersonic air vehicles has received important external funding, and plays a role in our national security.

• Randolph Philipp is a mathematics professor in the School of Education. Philipp is nationally recognized for both his teaching and his research. He has been awarded numerous major research grants and is part of a team that was recently awarded a prestigious National Science Foundation-funded grant —  the $3 million Noyce Mathematics and Science Master Teaching Fellowship Grant, which includes a $500,000 matching gift from Qualcomm.

• Joan Putnam is the director of the Joan and Art Barron Veterans Center. Putnam has created a variety of innovative services and support groups, such as the Veterans Center, the Vet Success Office, the Veterans House and the Student Veteran Organization. She also supports the SDSU Troops to Engineers and Troops to Geosciences programs and the campus ROTC programs.  Putnam participates in veterans groups, such as the San Diego Military Adivsory Council and the United Veterans Council.

• Amy Schmitz Weiss is an assistant professor in the School of Journalism and Media Studies. Weiss has directed several innovative projects, including the Aztec-Cast mobile news application and a workshop for geology and journalism students to learn digital media and mobile skills for use during earthquakes and wildfires. She has revamped seven courses to make them relevant for today’s media environment, presents peer-reviewed research at international conferences and has co-authored a book.

About the President's Leadership Fund

The President's Leadership Fund was established to provide SDSU with the flexible resources to respond quickly to strategic opportunities, pursue innovation and reward excellence.