Trustees’ Medal Award

The Trustee’s Medal Award is the university’s highest form of recognition for faculty achievement. Each year since 1978, the award has honored teaching excellence, significant contributions to scholarship and research, and accomplishments in the development of academic programs and curriculums. The award consists of a silver medallion and a $1,500 cash prize from the EWU Foundation.

Camille McNeely

Camille McNeely, PhD, is a professor of biology at Eastern Washington University. A respected authority in the fields of biology, environmental science and sustainability, McNeely is also an extraordinary champion for students. She earned her doctorate in integrative biology from the University of California, Berkeley, in 2004, and joined the EWU faculty as an assistant professor in 2007. An aquatic ecology specialist, McNeely’s work explores links among ecosystem processes, community interactions and natural landscapes. Her research and teaching impact the entire region, with implications for everything from trace mental pollution and rainbow trout ecology to white sturgeon recovery efforts.

McNeely’s sustained scientific contributions and strong advocacy for student research during her 15-year career at Eastern truly exemplify the teacher-scholar model. She has mentored more than 30 undergraduate research students, many of whom, thanks to McNeely’s support, have presented their work at national professional conferences. She has also overseen 13 graduate students, each of whom have worked on projects of major importance to environmental restoration efforts across the region.

Lucy Roussa, an undergraduate majoring in biology at EWU, has been conducting research under McNeely’s mentorship since winter quarter 2020.

“The mentorship that I have received from Dr. McNeely has helped me grow tremendously as a student and as an individual,” writes Roussa, who joined the McNair Scholars program at Eastern thanks to McNeely’s encouragement. “Her guidance has ultimately led me to a fully funded position in a PhD program at North Carolina State University, where I will be studying phytoplankton ecology. Although I acknowledge my own hard work, it is only through Camille’s support and encouragement that I will take this next step in fulfilling my dream of becoming a marine scientist.”

McNeely’s colleague and department chair, Rebecca Brown, also a professor of biology, writes that McNeely’s “tenure at the university is a testament to her institutional commitment, passion and expertise, and every contribution is made with compassion, respect and grace.”