2024 Oliver Johnson Award Recipients

Professor Kum-Kum Bhavnani

Kum-Kum Bhavani is a Distinguished Professor of Sociology at UCSB. She has an extraordinary record of service to the Academic Senate at UCSB, the broader UC system, and her local campus community. As chair of the UCSB Academic Senate in 2014, during the Isla Vista shootings, Professor Bhavnani led a wide range of activities to heal the campus and local community and improve safety. In addition to her service as a member of the UCSB Graduate Council, Committee on Committees, and numerous ad-hoc committees, Professor Bhavnani chaired the UCSB Council on Planning and Budget, Committee on International Education, and served as the UCSB divisional chair for four years. She was also vice chair and chair of the systemwide Academic Senate from 2018 to 2020, leading the Senate through the chaotic early months of the pandemic. Currently, she serves on the UCSB Chancellor's Advisory Task Force on Childcare and the UCSB and UC-systemwide Pathways to Fossil Free Task Force. Throughout her career, Professor Bhavnani has maintained an exceptional record of teaching, mentoring, academic research, and creative activities, earning awards for excellence in teaching and graduate student mentorship.

 

Professor Mary C. Gilly

Mary C. Gilly is Professor Emerita of Marketing in The Paul Merage School of Business at UCI. Professor Gilly’s extensive record of service to the Academic Senate spans more than three decades and continues even after her retirement. Her remarkable contributions to the Senate were accomplished while she conducted field-leading research and maintained her status as an internationally distinguished scholar. At UC Irvine’s Merage School, Professor Gilly held several key roles, including chair of the Task Force on Undergraduate Education, chair of the Faculty Executive Committee, and member of the Merage School Strategic Planning Task Force. She was also one of the inaugural equity advisors on campus, serving multiple terms, most recently in 2020. Throughout her tenure at UCI, Professor Gilly served on and/or chaired numerous committees, including the Committee on Affirmative Action, Special Senate Committee on Diversity, Committee on Privilege and Tenure, Council on Academic Personnel, and Graduate Council. She was elected by her peers to serve as chair of the Irvine division, and then as vice chair and chair of the systemwide Senate from 2013 to 2015. Professor Gilly is highly regarded for her commitment to inclusive excellence, facilitating interdisciplinary information exchange, and fostering positive interactions with faculty colleagues and administrators.