Circle of Excellence 2021

NSU announces 2021 Circle of Excellence recipients

(Tahlequah, Oklahoma) - Northeastern State University has announced the 2021 Circle of Excellence Award honorees.

NSU faculty members were nominated by their peers in one of the three categories: teaching, research and service. A selection committee of past honorees chose the best in each category for this recognition.

The 2021 Circle of Excellence Award honorees are: Dr. Alissa Proctor for teaching, Dr. Halil Kaya for research, and Dr. Suzanne Farmer for service.    

Dr. Alissa Proctor is a Professor at Oklahoma College of Optometry.  When not teaching class, you will find her supervising students at school screenings, in vision therapy clinic, or in infant vision clinic.  To date, Dr. Proctor is the Infant Vision Clinic Chief, and the Primary Care/Ocular Disease Residency Supervisor.  She is also the faculty advisor for Student Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity (SVOSH) and has taken optometric mission trips to Roatan, Honduras, the Brazilian Amazon River and Nigeria. She enjoys volunteering at Special Olympics Opening Eyes.  Dr. Proctor moved to Tahlequah in 2005 to complete a Family Practice Residency.  She is a graduate of the Michigan College of Optometry at Ferris State University

Dr. Halil Kaya is a Professor of Finance and his research interests include corporate finance, financial markets, and entrepreneurship. He has over 120 journal publications in these areas, two of which have received the best paper award at academic conferences. Before coming to Northeastern State University in 2013, he taught at Eastern Kentucky University, Kansas State University and Texas Tech University. He has been affiliated with Financial Management Association, Southern Finance Association, Southwestern Finance Association, and Kentucky Economic Association where he served as the President.

Dr. Suzanne Farmer is a native of the Delta in Southeast Arkansas who joined the faculty at NSU in the fall of 2011. Dr. Farmer graduated B.A. in History and Political Science from the University of Arkansas, Monticello. She received her M.A. in History with an emphasis on early modern Europe from Western Illinois University and earned a Ph.D. in History with a concentration in British history and the Atlantic World from The University of Mississippi. She was named Director of the Center for Women's Studies at NSU in the Fall of 2016 and has since worked to bring programming on campus that highlights the mission and values of Northeastern State University.

Each faculty honoree of the Circle of Excellence Award receives $2,500 that he or she can receive as a check or use for professional development. The office of Academic Affairs and the NSU Foundation provide help and support for this award.

For more information, contact Dr. Nathan Green at green66@nsuok.edu.