The University of St. Thomas is proud to announce its 2025-26 faculty award recipients.
St. Thomas Aquinas Excellence in Teaching Award: Dr. Dan Hu
Dr. Dan Hu is an Assistant Professor of Finance at the University of St. Thomas, where she has taught since 2022. She holds a Ph.D. in Business Administration-Finance from the University of Massachusetts Lowell, a Master of Science in Financial Risk Management from the University of Connecticut, and a Bachelor of Science in Finance from China Women’s University in Beijing.
Dr. Hu teaches at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, offering courses in Risk Management, Investments, Futures, Swaps and Options, Securities Analysis and Portfolio Management, and CFA Level I Review. Over the years, her students have praised her as organized, caring, and deeply knowledgeable, explaining complex material clearly and always ensuring no student is left behind. Many have described her as one of the best professors they have encountered, particularly highlighting her ability to connect theory to real-world applications and her genuine commitment to their learning and growth.
Her teaching philosophy centers on cultivating ethical, critical thinkers prepared not only for exams but also for meaningful careers. She also serves as a faculty advisor for the CFA Research Challenge Houston and is an active researcher, with publications in The Financial Review and the Journal of Corporate Finance.
Dr. Hu embodies the spirit of a dedicated educator, one who, in her own words, hopes to “light the road for students’ future journeys beyond the classroom.”
St. Edith Stein Research Award: Co-winners Joshua Hren and Vahid Taghikhani
Joshua Hren:
Co-founder of the UST Master of Fine Arts Program and Tenured Associate Professor Dr. Joshua Hren is the 2025-26 co-winner of the St. Edith Stein Award for Excellence in Research.
An exemplar of intellectual excellence in research and publishing, Hren’s peer-reviewed articles have appeared in many journals and published books. He is author of nine books, two of which were published this spring. More than a Matter of Taste: The Moral Imagination & the Spirit of Literature (Word on Fire) and Faith in the Furnace of Doubt: Dana Gioia’s Visionary Poetics (CUA Press) were both published this spring. Two more—Testing the Spirits: Finding Faith in Contemporary Fiction (also CUA Press) and The Hôtel-Dieu: A Novel (Angelico Press)—will appear in 2027.
Hren’s productivity in scholarly and literary work has been recognized by various bodies. This Our Exile: Short Stories (Angelico) was an honorable mention in the 2018 Christianity & Literature Book Award contest. His short story “Horseradish” was nominated for the 2019 Pushcart Prize. In the Wine Press: Short Stories (Angelico) was given first place in the Catholic Media Association’s book awards in the anthology category. In 2025, he was named Scholar-in-Residence for the St. Irenaeus Institute for Catholic Thought in Milwaukee.
Hren’s intellectual service includes the editorial direction of Wiseblood Books, which he founded in 2013. Wiseblood publishes reprints and new translations of older works as well as new books by important poets, novelists, and cultural critics such as Glenn Arbery, Dana Gioia, Sally Thomas, and Marly Youmans. Author Jennifer Frey calls Wiseblood “an indispensable press for those interested in the Christian literary imagination.”
Hren received B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees in English from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He has taught at George Fox University in Oregon, the University of Mary in North Dakota, and Belmont Abbey College in North Carolina. At the last, he was co-founder and Assistant Dean of the Honor’s College and won the Adrian Award for Faculty Teaching Excellence in 2020. Hren joined the University of Saint Thomas, Houston, in 2021, when he co-founded the Master of Fine Arts.
Vahid Taghikhani:
Dr. Vahid Taghikhani is Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Physics and Engineering. His research integrates theory, experimentation, modeling, and computational methods to enhance productivity in energy production and promote sustainability. His work focuses particularly on two key areas: CO₂ capture and sequestration to reduce carbon emissions, and hydrogen production as a clean and sustainable energy carrier.
Dr. Taghikhani has made both innovative and practical contributions to the field, authoring more than 140 peer-reviewed articles published in high-impact journals, including Elsevier, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, and the Journal of Energy. At least twelve refereed journal articles have been published within the past three years, and a book with Wiley Publishing is forthcoming. He has also presented his work at numerous international conferences and served as a plenary speaker at the 2024 World Chemical Engineering E-Congress. His Google Scholar h-index of 38 reflects the significant impact of his scholarship.
In addition to his research achievements, Dr. Taghikhani is an active member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), the world’s leading professional organization for chemical engineers. He also serves as a professional mentor for the AIChE South Texas Local Section, where he helps bridge connections between chemical engineering students and broader Science, Technology, and Society (STS) initiatives.
Dr. Taghikhani actively integrates his research into his teaching, taking pride in involving students in diverse research projects and external conference presentations, thereby mentoring the next generation of scientists and engineers. Reflecting on this integration, he states:
“My research has significantly influenced my teaching at UST. I am especially drawn to the relationship between teaching and research articulated in Ex Corde Ecclesiae [i.e.]: ‘While each discipline is taught systematically and according to its own methods, interdisciplinary studies—supported by careful engagement with philosophy and theology—enable students to develop an organic vision of reality and a lasting commitment to intellectual growth.’”
Dr. Taghikhani is a fine embodiment of the rigorous scholarship and research that underpins the excellence in teaching offered at UST.
Joseph McFadden Service Award: Dr. Andrew Hayes
Dr. Andrew Hayes has contributed significantly to the life of the University of St. Thomas since he first began teaching for the institution in 2011. After several years at UST, he was called upon to serve as the Department Chair of Theology in 2017. From 2020-2024, he served as Division Dean of Liberal Arts, during which term he was tasked with leading the Core Curriculum Renewal. He shepherded that work to its completion in 2024. From 2022-24, he served as the inaugural Director of the Department of the Core, and, more recently, as the Director of Graduate Studies in Theology from 2025-26.
In addition to these major items, Dr. Hayes has continued to offer himself for a variety of forms of service both official and unofficial. From 2024-26, he served as a mentor to new division deans. In the spring of 2025, he developed a workload analysis dashboard for the Academic Affairs office in order to ensure equity in workloads. He was named chair of the Academic Committee in 2025, a role he continues while also serving on the Faculty Senate, often volunteering for tasks in that body for the good of the university.
The current form of the Core, which lies at the heart of the education of every UST graduate, took shape under Dr. Hayes’ stewardship. He and the many colleagues he courteously invited to collaborate with him cultivated a curriculum that reflects a liberal arts education born out of and pervasively enlivened by the Catholic intellectual tradition. He exemplifies for his colleagues and the university community the love of learning, the reverence for reality, and the adoration of God that make for a most human life—the very end toward which the curriculum Dr. Hayes helped to form is directed.
He is the 2026 recipient of the Joseph M. McFadden Excellence in Service Award especially in acknowledgement of the gift he has made in his efforts to provide our students with an education oriented to nothing less than happiness itself, beatitude in God.