2025 President and Provost's Award for Distinguished Faculty Service
Three faculty members are recipients of the 2025 President and Provost’s Award for Distinguished Faculty Service. L. Camille Hébert, professor of law; Mitchell B. Lerner, professor of history; and Sara Watson, associate professor of political science, received surprise visits from university leadership announcing the awards.
L. Camille Hébert
Professor
Moritz College of Law
L. Camille Hébert has exemplified distinguished faculty service throughout her 37-year career at Ohio State. She has served on 12 university committees, including on the Promotion and Tenure Committee, Principal Investigator Advisory Committee and the Graduate Quality of University Experience Committee. In 2024, as acting dean of the Moritz College of Law, she led a comprehensive review of its governance documents, aligning them with current university standards. Hébert, the Robert J. Lynn Chair in Law, also served as the college’s associate dean for academic affairs from 1997 to 2000.
Mitchell B. Lerner
Professor
Department of History
College of Arts and Sciences
Mitchell B. Lerner has a well-established record of service at Ohio State and at local, state and national levels, including notable leadership roles. He served as associate director of the East Asian Studies Center (EASC) and head of its Institute for Korean Studies from 2011 to 2020, before becoming EASC director in 2020. Lerner oversaw the Foreign Language and Area Studies fellowship program and has been instrumental in developing partnerships across Ohio State. He also has a significant history of Honors service, first as director of the LeFevre Fellows program and then as Faculty Fellow for the Stamps Eminence Program. A past recipient of the Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching, Lerner teaches at Ohio State's Columbus and Newark campuses. He began his career at Ohio State in 2000.
Sara Watson
Associate Professor
Department of Political Science
College of Arts and Sciences
Sara Watson has demonstrated an outstanding commitment to service and governance at Ohio State. A University Senator since 2018, she has chaired the University Senate Rules Committee and is the current Faculty Council chair. She has also been instrumental in high-impact university initiatives, including the Office of Academic Affairs Faculty Recruitment and Selection Policy Writing Group, Free Speech Policy Writing Group and co-chair of the Task Force on Clarifying Roles of Clinical Teaching and Practice Faculty Titles. In 2024, she served on the advisory committee for the executive vice president and provost search. Watson began her Ohio State career in 2008.
“This year’s President and Provost's Award for Distinguished Faculty Service honorees represent an exceptional commitment to service and to advancing Ohio State’s land-grant mission,” said Ravi V. Bellamkonda, executive vice president and provost. “Their dedication to our university is an inspiration for their colleagues and Ohio State’s students.”
The President and Provost's Award for Distinguished Faculty Service recognizes faculty members for their contributions to the development and implementation of university policies and programs through non-administrative roles while continuing to teach and pursue scholarship. The award annually recognizes up to three tenure-track, clinical or research faculty members who have been at Ohio State for at least five years.
This year’s faculty award honorees will be recognized on April 25 during the annual Faculty Awards Celebration.