AUM's best and brightest academic stars received recognition on Friday, April 27, at the annual Honors Day award ceremony. The honorees included top student-athletes, Chancellor's Scholars, outstanding departmental students, University Honors Program students, outstanding student leaders, the college bowl team and honor society inductees.
The highest academic honor at AUM is that of Chancellor's Scholar. Congratulations to the following students who received the prestigious award for 2012:
School of Business scholar Erin Gillie of Clarksburg, Md.
School of Education scholar Nik Chamberlain of Montgomery
School of Liberal Arts scholar Amelia Christine Cortez of Auburn, Ala.
School of Nursing scholar Lesli Carter of Montgomery
School of Sciences scholar Michael Donovan of Prattville, Ala.

Chancellor Veres stands with the 2011-2012 Chancellor's Scholars (left to right): Nik Chamberlain, Erin Gillie, Amelia Christine Cortez, Michael Donovan, and Lesli Carter
Outstanding Students by School/Department
School of Business
Department of Accounting: Ching M. Ho
Department of Economics and Finance: Erin Gillie
Department of Information Systems and Decision Sciences: Denise Marshall
Department of Management: Brittany Roosendaal
School of Education
Department of Counselor, Leadership and Special Education: Jaclyn Porter
Department of Early Childhood, Elementary and Reading Education: Melanie Grace Smart
Department of Foundations and Secondary Education: Whitney Spain Abrams
Department of Physical Education and Exercise Science: Nik Chamberlain
School of Liberal Arts
Bachelor of Liberal Arts: Barbara DeMichels
Department of Communication and Dramatic Arts: Daniel Brown
Department of English and Philosophy: Elizabeth McCord
Department of Fine Arts: .Amelia Christine Cortez
Department of History: Allison Hamilton
Department of Sociology: Madison Alayne Hinton
School of Nursing
Lesli Carter
Amanda Cooke
Jeff W. Moore
School of Sciences
Department of Biology: Max L. Capouano
Department of Justice and Public Safety: Michael Z. Donavan
Department of Physical Sciences: Abdulwhab Kochi
Department of Political Science and Public Administration: Kevin Walters
Department of Psychology: Taeho (James) Choi
The members of the College Bowl team also received recognition for their performance competing in the academic trivia circuit. The 2011-2012 team members were:
- Alex Haigh
- Brandon Taylor
- Graydon Rust
- Chris Starr
AUM Scholar Athletes were recognized for high achievement in the classroom while balancing athletic and academic efforts. The overall team GPA award went to men’s soccer.
Individual honorees were:
- Women’s Scholar Athlete Award: Rachel Cunningham (cross-country and women’s basketball)
- Men’s Scholar Athlete Award: Michael Dugan (baseball)
- Southern States Athletic Conference Female Honor Student: Ana Veselinovic (women’s tennis)
- Southern States Athletic Conference Male Honor Student: Christopher Ross (men’s soccer)
In addition, 33 students and faculty members were inducted into Omicron Delta Kappa, a national honor society that recognizes campus leadership and achievement among undergraduate junior and senior students, graduate students, faculty, staff, administration, and alumni. The prestigious Phi Kappa Phi honor society, the oldest cross-disciplinary honor society in the U.S., also welcomed 43 new AUM students to its roster. Congratulations to all of the honorees!