Krystal Smalls, Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Linguistics, has won the LEAP (Lincoln Excellence Assistant Professors) Award for Academic Years 2022-24. The LEAP Award is granted to distinguished early-career faculty at the University of Illinois who demonstrate the highest caliber of academic achievement, scholarly productivity and outstanding contribution to the College of LAS. Winners of the award retain the title of LEAP Scholar for a period of 2 years and discretionary research funding to enhance scholarly contributions.