The Boise State University Foundation recently honored Boise State faculty members Tim Kempf and Krishna Pakala with the 2022-2023 Boise State University Foundation Excellence Awards. The awards were previously known as the Foundation Scholars Awards. These awards honor Boise State faculty who have demonstrated ongoing commitment, expertise and accomplishments in teaching, research and service. The honorees will receive a $5,000 honorarium from the foundation and add their names to the list of recipients since the awards began in 1992.
“The Boise State University Foundation is pleased to have an opportunity to recognize the Foundation Excellence Award recipients and the contributions made by faculty members at Boise State,” said foundation Executive Director Paul Powell. “Boise State faculty create a rich learning environment, advance the boundaries of knowledge, and serve their professions. Our relentless passion for excellence as a university makes Boise State a great place for students to learn and for our faculty and staff to work.”
2022-2023 Foundation Excellence Honorees
Clinical, Lecturer or Research Faculty Honoree: Tim Kempf
Tim Kempf is a clinical associate professor with the Department of Kinesiology. Kempf began his tenure at Boise State in 2011, teaching in the area of exercise science. His work includes mentorship, course and program development, and teaching courses in applied anatomy, exercise physiology, exercise testing and prescription and biomechanics. He previously worked in cardiac rehabilitation as a Clinical Exercise Physiologist at the University of Pittsburgh and conducted research in biomechanics and human motor learning and control at Rush Medical Center in Chicago.
“Dr. Kempf is one of our strongest faculty members. His efforts are outstanding with regard to teaching and with student evaluation scores, he is near the top of the list of all of our instructors,” said Lynda Ransdell, department chair of kinesiology. “It is my perception that students very much enjoy engaging with and learning from Dr. Kempf at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. I believe Dr. Kempf makes the extra effort whenever given a chance because he is the consummate professional and, for this reason, exceeds expectations in this area.”
Tenure or Tenure-Track Faculty Honoree: Krishna Pakala
Krishna Pakala is an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering. He began teaching at Boise State in 2012, overseeing courses in the areas of thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, heat transfer and more. He is involved in a number of faculty service responsibilities within the department and has served as the Faculty in Residence for seven years, receiving multiple awards for his work. Because of his critical involvement in students’ lives, he has been selected as the Honored Faculty by four Top Ten Scholar recipients awarded annually by the Boise State Alumni Association. He also helped establish and direct the Engineering Tutoring Center and the Peer Educator Program within the College of Engineering.
“I am proud to support Dr. Krishna Pakala’s nomination for this year’s Foundation Excellence Award for Tenured or Tenure-Track Faculty,” said Todd Otanicar, department chair of mechanical and biomedical engineering. “His novel instruction in the classroom, his passion for engaging all students, his growing scholarship contributions and his commitment to teaching and service excellence for the last 11 years are extremely impressive.”