Dr. Joseph Cipfl Faculty Research Grant, Illinois Community College Board (ICCB), 2021. Research Topic: Counteracting Equity Barriers to Online and Remote Learning for Community College Students in Developmental Courses
Doctoral Exam Passed with Distinction, Bibliography & Textual Studies, August 2013.
Arnold B. Fox Award for Graduate Research Writing, NIU, November 2011. “Jane Austen’s Letters: A Paleographic Study.”
Honorable Mention, Harlan Teller Dissertation Award, NIU, April 2017.
Honorable Mention, Arnold B. Fox Award for Graduate Research Writing, NIU, February 2013. “The Gothic (and Other Generic Elements) in M.E. Braddon’s ‘Sensational’ Lady Audley’s Secret.”
Professional Recognition ("Applause," NIU Today)
September 20, 2022 I had an unexpectedly large number of “special requests” I had to make regarding multiple BlackBoard courses and I had to reach out to Amanda for assistance. With every new email, I shared that I hoped that the request would be the “last one,” but it was not true until after a few more requests. Amanda is so knowledgeable, so helpful and so very patient with people – she deserves a huge round of applause for all of the assistance she gave me. Thank you, Amanda, for providing assistance in such a responsive and supportive manner! January 25, 2021 Amanda has always been a great help with assisting me with Blackboard questions. She is kind, incredibly responsive (often within minutes of a message being sent), and very patient when I am asking the same question I asked months earlier, but did not retain the answer. Last summer and fall many College of Law faculty who may not have used Blackboard in the past were using it. Because our schedule is a bit different than the rest of the university and because of the newness of Blackboard for some faculty, we had several issues around course availability. Amanda worked with me to make sure all the classes were made available early enough to avoid any issues with access and we were able to make the access to fall classes go smoothly. Also, just last Friday she was quick to help resolve an issue I was having, making my own start to the semester better. I really appreciate her patience and pleasant attitude and all the assistance she provides.
August 24, 2020 This team developed, coordinated and launched the TA Institute fully online! Your efforts provided access to this critical training opportunity for so many NIU graduate students–thank you!
June 1, 2020 Amanda has been incredibly helpful to us in the transition to remote teaching, all while keeping other learning communities she runs active and awesome. She is patient and kind, while being brilliant and helpful.
Digital Badges and Microcredentials
Using Open Source Libraries: A security perspective