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Juniata College Honors Four Faculty Members with Distinguished Teaching and Service Awards

(Posted May 22, 2025)

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HUNTINGDON, Pa.–Juniata College honored four faculty members with distinguished teaching and service awards during the annual Awards Convocation, which took place May 7.     

Charles A. Dana Professor of Biology Jill Keeney was named the 58th recipient of the Beachley Award for Distinguished Teaching. Professor of Communication Sarah Worley, who graduated from Juniata in 2000, received the 36th annual Beachley Award for Distinguished Academic Service. Assistant Professor of Biology T.J. Firneno was honored with the 30th Henry ’57 and Joan Gibbel Award for Distinguished Teaching, which goes to faculty members with fewer than six years of service at Juniata. Professor of Biology Randy Bennett earned the fourth annual Eagle Advising Award, which is awarded to a faculty or staff member who has served as an adviser for at least three years.      

Award nominations are received from students, faculty, administrators, alumni, and trustees. Selection committees for each award are chaired by the college provost and include the college president, student government president, and the three most recent award recipients for each award.    

Keeney came to Juniata in 1994 from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, where she was a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Genetics and Molecular Biology. She earned a Bachelor of Science in biochemistry from Penn State University and a Ph.D. in immunology from Washington University of St. Louis.   

Students who nominated Keeney said she explains the material in a realistic and personable way, making it clear that she truly cares about both Juniata and the subject she is teaching. One nominator wrote that Keeney is “one of the best people I’ve ever met. Her humility and willingness to serve others over herself is an inspiration.” Over her career, Keeney has received multiple grants from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.  

Known for her collaborative attitude, Worley prepares students for leadership and civic engagement to make the community and the world a better place. She has served as Juniata’s inaugural director of community-engaged teaching and learning since 2016. Worley has been successful in securing external funding to support projects including the Martin Luther King Jr. National Day of Service and the ACHIEVE Health Literacy Project. She is an emerging leader with organizations like Campus Compact and the Stanford Pathways Program.  

Worley earned a bachelor’s degree in communication and philosophy at Juniata in 2000, a Master of Public Administration from the University of Colorado Denver in 2003, and a Ph.D. in mass communication from Penn State University in 2016. She returned to Juniata in 2004, where she now chairs the Department of Communication. 

Firneno joined the Juniata faculty in 2024 from a two-year postdoctoral research fellowship with the National Science Foundation. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Duquesne University, a master’s degree from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 2016, and a doctorate from the University of Texas at Arlington in 2021.   

Described as engaging, informative, and passionate, Firneno engages in program and course development, and he is known for cultivating curiosity with students and encouraging collaboration and sharing of information among his 12 lab research students. An active grant seeker, Firneno currently has 10 manuscripts in progress.  

Colleagues and students know Professor Randy Bennett as a connector who is attentive and approachable. As an advisor, Bennett is someone students can trust and rely on. Students know that he is deeply invested in their growth and is a great listener. He has served on the college's Retention Committee for the past three years and is a longstanding member of the Health Professions Committee.   

Bennett came to Juniata from Brigham Young University, where he was an assistant professor of zoology. He earned his bachelor’s degree in biology and chemistry from Western Maryland College in 1985 and his Ph.D. in oncology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1993.   

The annual faculty awards recognize the collective work of faculty and honor how they advance the college's mission of providing an engaging, personalized educational experience, empowering students to develop the skills, knowledge, and values that lead to a fulfilling life of service and ethical leadership in the global community. The recipient of the Henry ’57 and Joan Gibbel Award for Distinguished Teaching, Assistant Professor of Biology T.J. Firneno, will deliver remarks to the first-year student class at this fall’s opening convocation. The recipient of the Beachley Award for Distinguished Teaching, Charles A. Dana Professor of Biology Jill Keeney, will be the keynote speaker at next year’s spring awards convocation.  

Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.