Outstanding Dissertation Award Recipients
This award is given to Baylor doctoral candidates who exhibit exceptional scholarship, research, and writing. They were chosen from a group of nominees recognized by their departments for the outstanding quality of their work, and then the final award recipients were selected by a committee of graduate program directors.
2021-2022 Outstanding Dissertation Award Recipients
Dr. Caroline Paddock, PhD Philosophy, Baylor University
Dissertation: "Aristotelianism and Liberalism: Toward a Rapprochement"
Dissertation Mentor: John J. Haldane, PhD
Caroline Paddock’s dissertation argued that the main insights of the Aristotelian and Liberal traditions in political philosophy are reconcilable, and that each can serve as useful corrective to the other in a variety of contexts. She is moving to San Antonio this summer to teach Humane Letters (ancient and modern philosophy) at a classical high school.
Dr. Jonathan Seward, PhD Health Services Research, Baylor University
Dissertation: "Examining Health Care Provider Case and Setting Allocation"
Dissertation Mentor: Michael Richards, PhD
Jonathan Seward will be joining the Economics Department at Baylor University this summer as a postdoctoral research associate and is published in health economics and policy journals. His research focuses on health care markets and criminal justice, and both research streams promise to inform local, state, and national public policy. The health care markets stream explores provider responses to policy/regulatory changes (e.g. Medicare policy shifts) and industry trends (e.g. vertical integration, business cycle, etc.). His criminal justice research focuses on evaluating policies and regulations aimed at reducing suicidality and improving mental health and/or economic outcomes of disadvantaged populations. Jonathan’s research interests have enabled him to work closely with physician groups, health insurance companies, and correctional facilities to provide insight to stakeholders at the local and national levels.
Dr. Raegyn Taylor, PhD Chemistry & Biochemistry, Baylor University
Dissertation: "Targeted and Non-targeted Analysis of Pesticides, Algal Toxins, and Human Pharmaceuticals in Aquatic Systems"
Dissertation Mentors: C. Kevin Chambliss PhD and Bryan W. Brooks, PhD
Raegyn is currently working as an ORISE Postdoctoral Researcher for the USDA Agricultural Research Service near Philadelphia, PA. Her research efforts focus on assessing human exposure to emerging contaminants, such as PFAS, in food and food packaging using targeted and non-targeted approaches. In 2015, she earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry with a minor in mathematics from Juniata College, where she participated in organic synthesis research. After graduating from Juniata, she worked as an outreach coordinator for Science in Motion – a program that provides middle and high school students with access to advanced experiments and instrumentation in STEM. She went on to earn her PhD in analytical chemistry from Baylor University under the advisement of Drs. Kevin Chambliss and Bryan Brooks, where her dissertation focused on the analysis of pesticides, harmful algal bloom toxins, and pharmaceuticals in aquatic systems.
2020-2021 Recipients
Dr. Brandon Rickabaugh, Department of Philosophy
Dr. Lexi Pasi, Department of Mathematics
Dr. Peter Leestma, Department of Information Systems
2019-2020 Recipients
- Rachel Alexander, Department of Political Science
- Sam Yruegas, Department of Chemistry
- Renae Wilkinson, Department of Sociology
2018-2019 Recipients
- Kenneth Vaughan, Department of Sociology
- Michael Rawl, Department of English
- Logan Wiest, Department of Geosciences
2017-2018 Recipients
- Alireza Abdolvahabi, Department of Chemistry
- Laurie Giddens, Department of Information Systems
- Scott Ryan, Department of Religion
2016-2017 Recipients
- Ahmad Borzou, Department of Physics
- Brendan Payne, Department of History
- Robert A. Thompson, Department of Sociology
2015-2016 Recipients
- Puzant Balozian, Department of Information Systems
- Sarah Martindale, Department of Psychology/Neuroscience
- Stephen Sims, Department of Political Science
2014-2015 Recipients
- Logan Gage, Department of Philosophy
- Brandon Martinez, Department of Sociology
- VH Satheeshkumar, Department of Physics
2013-2014 Recipients
- Mary Mathie, Department of Political Science
- Douglas Moore, Department of Physics