College holds luncheon to honor education doctoral fellowship students

A group of professors and graduate students seated at a dinner table.

College of Education Fall 2026 Doctoral Student Awards luncheon (Photo/D. Starr)

October 15, 2026

The College of Education honored first-year and second-year doctoral students who received prestigious graduate fellowships at a doctoral fellowship luncheon in Marriot Hall’s John Purdue Room (Oct. 8).

Wayne Wright, associate dean for research, graduate programs and faculty development, presented the awards.

The first and second year doctoral students who received these prestigious fellowships are:

Bukola Abiiba holding a certificate. She is surrounded by Jasmine Begeske and Wayne Wright.
Bukola Abiiba, 2026-2027 Ross Fellowship (Advisor: Dr. Jasmine Begeske)
Mopinre Akinola-Olabanji holding a certificate. She is surrounded by Katy Rusnak and Wayne Wright.
Mopinre Akinola-Olabanji, 2026-2027 Ross Fellowship (Advisor: Dr. Katy Rusnak)
Katherine Brungard and Wayne Wright holding a certificate.
Katherine Brungard, 2026-2027 Ross Fellowship and Presidential Doctoral Excellence Award (Advisor: Dr. Anne Traynor)
Jon Butler holding a certificate. He is surrounded by Nielsen Pereira and Wayne Wright.
Jon Butler, 2026-2027 Ross Fellowship and Presidential Doctoral Excellence Award (Advisor: Dr. Nielsen Pereira)
Fatemeh Dadashipour holding a certificate. She is surrounded by Jennifer Richardson and Wayne Wright.
Fatemeh Dadashipour, 2026-2027 Department of Curriculum and Instruction Fellowship (Advisor: Dr. Jennifer Richardson)
Obasanjo Fajemirokun holding a certificate. He is surrounded by Stephanie Scherer and Wayne Wright.
Obasanjo Fajemirokun, 2026-2027 Ross Fellowship (Advisor: Dr. Amber Neal-Stanley, but pictured here with committee member Dr. Stephanie Scherer)
Linda Gwayu holding a certificate. She is surrounded by Danielle Malone and Wayne Wright.
Linda Gwayu, 2026-2027 Ross Fellowship (Advisor: Dr. Danielle Malone)
Nnenna Kalu holding a certificate. She is surrounded by David Stanley and Wayne Wright.
Nnenna Kalu, 2026-2027 Dean’s Doctoral Fellowship (Advisor: Dr. Eric Deemer, but pictured with committee member Dr. David Stanley)
Meenu Narang holding a certificate. She is surrounded by Alison Warren and Wayne Wright.
Meenu Narang, 2026-2027 Frederick N. Andrews Fellowship (Advisor: Dr. Alison Warren)
Ishmael Neequaye and Wayne Wright holding a certificate.
Ishmael Neequaye , 2026-2027 Dean’s Doctoral Fellowship (Advisor: Dr. Wayne Wright)
Pankaj Paul holding a certificate. He is surrounded by Victoria Lowell and Wayne Wright.
Pankaj Paul, 2026-2027 Ross Fellowship (Advisor: Dr. Victoria Lowell)
Jason Rubb holding a certificate. He is surrounded by Qi Huang, Hua Hua Chang, and Wayne Wright.
Jason Rubb, 2026-2027 Frederick N. Andrews Fellowship and Presidential Doctoral Excellence Award (Advisors: Drs. Hua Hua Chang and Qi Huang)
Muhammad Sabih and Wayne Wright holding a certificate.
Muhammad Sabih, Dept. of Curriculum and Instruction Fellowship (Co-Advisors: Dr. Virak Chan and Dr. Wayne Wright)

Two recipients were unable to attend and are not pictured:

  • Allison Frazier, Dean’s Doctoral Fellowship and Presidential Doctoral Excellence Award (Advisor: Dr. Jake Burdick)
  • Heather Hayen, Ross Fellowship and Presidential Doctoral Excellence Award (Advisor: Dr. Jake Burdick)

Congratulations, Boilermaker Educators!

Source: College of Education Office of Graduate Studies