STATESBORO — Lisa A. Costello, Ph.D., an associate professor in writing and linguistics and director of the women’s, gender and sexuality studies won an Excellence in Service Award at the 2019-2020 Fall University Convocation ceremony. 

The award is given to faculty who provide non-compensated assistance to the community, region and academic arena. Her award was interdisciplinary, meaning that it covers more than one topic, and is broad in scope.

Costello said that her goal in community outreach is to engage others in the concepts of tolerance, diversity, inclusion and equity, and that these values feed her passion for service. 

“These concepts infuse the work I do in writing, gender studies and Holocaust studies and engaging with the community about the importance of inclusive, open attitudes and spaces in all these realms feeds the passion I have for service,” Costello said. “My intention with service, as a teacher and a scholar, is to improve the lives of others.”

She won the award for her work in three disciplines, including writing and linguistics, women’s, gender and sexuality studies and Holocaust studies. Costello spent time volunteering her expertise in the community in education as a Parent Council member for Bulloch County Schools, and she she has worked with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, building on online database that provides documents that help teachers in teaching the Holocaust.

Costello earned her Bachelor of Arts from California State University Long Beach in recreation and leisure studies before going on to earn a Master of Arts from CSULB. She then earned her Ph.D. in rhetoric and composition studies with a minor in women’s, gender, and sexuality studies and Holocaust studies from Louisiana State University.

Nathan Woodruff, The George-Anne Managing News Editor, gaeditor@georgiasouthern.edu