UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The College of Arts and Architecture announced eight recipients of faculty, staff and sustainability awards for the 2025-26 academic year at its annual spring awards ceremony in April.
The awards reflect each recipient's dedication to excellence inside and outside of the classroom, while celebrating their positive and lasting impact on the College of Arts and Architecture.
The recipients are:
Barbara O. Korner Award for Faculty Outstanding Service: Heather McCune Bruhn
As an associate teaching professor of art history, McCune Bruhn’s research interests include the materials and methods of artists throughout history, and developing accessible hands-on engagement activities for students in her online and large lecture classes. These include 3D printed models of important works and inexpensive art activities.
Besides teaching and mentoring students, she loves to help recognize and reward student accomplishments. She serves on Fulbright award committees, judges the Penn State graduate and undergraduate research exhibitions, and works with Jenny Blew and others to exhibit student work in 104 Borland.
Faculty Award for Outstanding Teaching: Melody Quah
Described as a “poet with titanium fingers” by the Vancouver Sun, Melody Quah, assistant professor of piano, has appeared at Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall and has performed with orchestras internationally, including the Malaysian Philharmonic, Vancouver Symphony and Pomeranian Philharmonic Orchestras. Quah has premiered more than two dozen works by living composers, and her 2026 debut album features new music by Southeast Asian composers.
Quah joined the School of Music faculty in 2020 and teaches applied piano and chamber music, coordinates the piano area and serves on the University Faculty Senate. She is president of the Pennsylvania Music Teachers National Association and is a Yamaha Artist. She is a graduate of the Juilliard School, Yale School of Music and Peabody Conservatory.
Award for Excellence in Advising and Mentoring: Gabriella Sam
Gabriella Sam, soprano and assistant professor of musical theater voice, is a dedicated educator and advocate in finding one's authentic voice. Sam has had student success in Broadway productions of “Lempika,” “Aladdin,” “Sunset Boulevard,” and “Wicked.” Off-Broadway, her students have performed in productions of “Heathers” and tour productions of “The Book of Mormon” and “Outsiders,” among others.
Sam’s opera credits include Lily in “Porgy and Bess,” Ann Putnam in “The Crucible,” Mayme in “Intimate Apparel,” Fox in “The Cunning Little Vixen,” Mother in “Hansel and Gretel,” New Prioress in “Dialogues of the Carmelites” and Musetta in “La Bohème.” She has also covered the roles of Bess and Serena in “Porgy and Bess,” the Foreign Princess in “Rusalka,” Ariadne in “Ariadne auf Naxos” and Patience in “Castor and Patience.”
Staff Award for Outstanding Service: Kyrie Harding
Harding joined the College of Arts and Architecture in 2018 as advising director after a decade of service in advising and leadership roles within the Bellisario College of Communications. In her current role, she leads a team of five professional advisers who support all undergraduate students in the college. She oversees a wide range of academic processes, including major and campus transitions, re-enrollment, student-athlete verification, academic recovery and New Student Orientation, while also advising exploratory students and those pursuing minors.
Actively engaged in university committees and a dedicated advocate for student success, Harding is deeply committed to creating student-centered systems and fostering collaboration across the university. She continually seeks new partnerships and innovative approaches to better support students.
Staff Morale Award: Peter Rea
Rea joined the Office of Digital Learning in 2023 as an instructional production specialist. A graduate of the College of Arts and Architecture (bachelor of music in voice, 2013), he coordinates the scheduling of all World Campus courses offered by the college and provides support for online courses, including accessibility and multimedia improvements.
He serves on the College of Arts and Architecture Staff Advisory Council and chaired the council in 2024-25. He is the operations chair of the A&A Sustainability Council and the college’s representative to the University Staff Advisory Council. He serves on the Learning Design Summer Camp planning committee, has run sessions of the College of Arts and Architecture Book Club, and has planned and facilitated sessions for staff in collaboration with Human Resources and R-VOICE.
Rising Star Award: Barrell Davis Jr.
Davis, academic programs coordinator, has been a full-time staff member in the School of Theatre since 2023. He is currently serving as the school's representative to the Staff Advisory Council and as the adviser to Penn State's chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia. Outside of work, he plays cello in multiple groups throughout central Pennsylvania, including the Williamsport and Altoona Symphony Orchestras.
Faculty Sustainability Award: Laurencio Ruiz
Ruiz, lecturer in scenic design and puppetry, joined the School of Theatre in 2022, teaching the fundamentals of design and theater production practices. His experience as a transdisciplinary designer includes sets, costumes, puppets and props for theatre, television and film in Mexico, Germany, Japan and the United States. He creates, directs and performs original puppet shows in which sustainability is essential to the entire creative and artistic process of design, construction and execution, and often central to the “story.”
His sustainability efforts in the profession are embedded not only in his daily life, he said, but also in his pedagogy, community engagement and service, which have been central throughout his 24 years at Penn State, including 19 years in theater and integrative arts at Penn State Altoona.
Graduate Student Sustainability Award: Hanin Othman
Othman is a doctoral degree candidate in architecture specializing in computational design, environmental sensing and building systems. Her research integrates digital twins, IoT-based sensing and machine learning to study spatial and temporal variations in indoor air quality. She develops hybrid sensing systems that combine stationary and mobile robotic platforms to support data-driven design and building performance analysis.
At the Stuckeman School, Othman contributes to interdisciplinary research and teaching in environmental systems and design studios. She is a recipient of the ICDS Rising Researcher Award and the Fox Graduate School Summer Research Grant and is supported by a grant from the Cocozziello Institute for her digital twin research. She was also recognized as a Fox Scholar and selected for the Artists and Makers in Residence Program.