Hanover College

Hoskins, Umoren headline 81st-annual Honors Convocation

Seniors Cara Hoskins and Immanuel Umoren headlined Hanover College’s student academic award recipients, while professors Darrin Rubino and Paul Battles received the top faculty awards, during the College's 81st-annual Honors Convocation. The traditional event, featuring the Class of 2018 and faculty in full academic regalia, was held Thursday, April 12, in Fitzgibbon Recital Hall, Lynn Center for Fine Arts.

Pictured (l-r): Darrin Rubino, Immanuel Umoren, President Lake Lambert, Cara Hoskins and Paul Battles

Hoskins, a communication major, earned the Henry C. Long Citation for Scholarship and General Excellence as the outstanding senior female. She also received the Distinguished Award in Communication.

A member of the Business Scholars Program, Hoskins has served many roles during her four years on campus, including: residence hall director, lead tutor at the Ken and Kendal Gladish Teaching and Learning Center, president of the Student Broadcasting Association, president of Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society and scholarship chair for Alpha Delta Pi sorority. She also has been active as co-founder and vice president of Circle K, a campus volunteer organization, fundraising chair for Earthwide Outreach by Students and a marketing intern for the Ronald McDonald House Charities.

Umoren, an international studies and communication major, was presented with the John Finley Crowe Citation for Scholarship and General Excellence as the outstanding senior male. He also earned the M. Anwarul Haq International Studies Award and the John B. Goodrich Prize in Oratory.

During his time on campus, Umoren was elected to serve two terms as president of Hanover’s Student Senate and served for two years as a student representative on the College’s Board of Trustees, as well as one term as vice president of the Catholic Students Organization. He has also worked as a peer advisor and an ambassador for international student recruitment.

Rubino, a professor of biology, earned the Arthur and Ilene Baynham Outstanding Teaching Award. Established by the College in 1969, the honoree is selected by a ballot of currently enrolled students and alumni from the past two graduating classes. To be eligible, a faculty member must be in at least the fourth year of teaching at the College. The winner receives a bronze medallion and a cash prize.

A member the Hanover faculty since 2002, Rubino's areas of focus include botany, plant taxonomy, ecology, research methods and tree-ring analysis. He joins Larry Thorton, professor of history, and George Curtis, former professor of history, as three-time recipients of the honor. He also earned the Baynham Award in 2007 and 2012.

Battles, a professor of English, received the Daryl R. Karns Award for Scholarly and Creative Activity. The award, named for the biology professor who died in 2011, recognizes sustained scholarly or creative achievement. Faculty members nominate colleagues for the award, which are sent to three judges at liberal arts colleges similar to Hanover. The winner receives a bronze medallion and a cash prize.

Battles, who joined the College’s faculty in 1999, teaches courses in early and medieval literature, linguistics, literary theory, and fantasy and science fiction. His research interests include Old- and Middle-English poetry, genre, intertextuality and Germanic myth.