UCM Graduates Foreman, Oden Honored With 2026 Charno Award

Hadley Oden, left, and Piper Foreman are the 2026 Charno Award recipients at the University of Central Missouri.

 

Recognized for their academic excellence and strong campus involvement, Piper Foreman and Hadley Oden are the recipients of the 2026 Charno Award, the most prestigious honor given to University of Central Missouri (UCM) students.

The Charno Award is presented annually to the top citizens at UCM. It honors George Charno Sr., a Kansas City attorney who established the award in 1940, followed by a second award in 1941, to recognize the two outstanding members of the senior class. 

Foreman and Oden, who both graduated in December 2025, were recognized at the 86th annual Who’s Who at UCM and Charno Awards ceremony on April 9 in the Elliott Student Union. Awards were announced by Shari Bax, Ph.D., vice president of Student Experience and Engagement, and presented by President Roger Best. The recipients will also be recognized during the Spring 2026 Commencement ceremonies on May 8-9 in the Jerry M. Hughes Athletics Center in Warrensburg.

Piper Foreman

Foreman, a Psychology major from Harrisonville, Missouri, is an accomplished student and leader who served UCM in a variety of ways.

“There’s a wonderful lineup of people and I think everyone in Who’s Who deserves this. And so to be one of the two names called, this means a lot to me,” Foreman said of receiving the award. “I’ve had a really wonderful time here at UCM and it has supported me in more ways than I think I could ever imagine or will ever know.”

She has been active in many organizations, such as the Muslim Student Association and MO Volunteers. Foreman served in numerous leadership roles, including Psychology Club Historian, Vice President of Psi Chi, Phi Kappa Phi Student Vice President, and President of the Honors College Student Association. She also served in multiple student worker positions on campus. Remarkably, she accomplished all of this while achieving a perfect 4.0 cumulative and departmental GPA.

Her goals evolved over the last four years at UCM, something she credits to the faculty and staff's investment in their students. She said the university gave her the space and resources to explore her interests and supported her as she learned more about herself.

Foreman worked as a research assistant in UCM’s NeuroCALL lab since its founding in 2023. Under the guidance of Adam Runyan, Ph.D., lab director and assistant professor of Psychological Science, students utilize physiological measures such as EEG, EKG, and Electrodermal Activity (EDA) to better understand human cognition. As Foreman began applying for a Ph.D. teaching assistant position, Runyan also created new opportunities for her to gain teaching experience.

Foreman said she had never considered attending graduate school until she joined the McNair Scholars program, where she received encouragement and the tools to pursue that possibility. In August, Foreman will start a Ph.D. program in Social-Personality Psychology at the University at Buffalo, part of the State University of New York. Her long-term career goal is to become a professor of Psychology.

 

“UCM taught me to dream a little bit bigger than I had before,” Foreman said. “Before I thought I’d get a bachelor’s degree and that would be wonderful, and I still think that would be wonderful, but now to see the things that I’ve done – I’ve presented at conferences, I feel pretty confident doing research, I’ve done my own research through McNair, through The Honors College, I’ve done funded research, gotten grants, gotten into a Ph.D. program. I don’t think freshman Piper would believe it.”

Hadley Oden

Oden, a Criminal Justice and Criminology major from Hermann, Missouri, has been an extraordinary example of leadership and service at UCM.

“It’s a gigantic recognition for what I’ve done, but also who I can be,” Oden said of receiving the award. “In high school, I was not involved, so the fact that I got to come to college, be involved and have my college say, ‘We’re proud of you and we’re excited for what you’re going to do next’ was really huge. It’s exciting to have another reminder that my school is behind me and that there’s so much ahead of me.”

When Oden started at UCM, she planned on transferring to another institution. But once she got to campus and decided to stay, she wanted to create a home at UCM, and she did so through service and involvement in committees and leadership roles. 

In addition to being an active member of the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, she was a member of numerous campus organizations, including The Honors College, Speech and Debate Team, UCM Law Journal, Pre-Law Student Association, and the Mule Team, among others. She has served as an Admissions Ambassador and Chairwoman of the Sustainability Committee for the Student Government Association. She also served as the student governor on the university’s Board of Governors for two and a half years.

During her four years on the UCM Mock Trial team, including three as captain, Oden earned several team recognitions and seven Outstanding Attorney Awards, becoming one of the best Mock Trial attorneys in the region.

She also completed an internship with a Warrensburg law firm, earned numerous scholarships and awards, and traveled to Peru for two weeks with the Global Vision program. While balancing all these responsibilities, she maintained an exemplary GPA.

All of her UCM experiences have inspired Oden to attend law school next year.

 

“UCM really did just give me a chance to figure out who I am as a person because I really didn’t know. And I figured out that gets to keep changing and so does who I want to be,” Oden said. “It’s fun to know that and know there are so many different things to do. I learned that I could do Mock Trial and I could be a mule rider for a little bit. It just taught me to have a little bit of confidence and be willing to throw myself out there and see what happens. So far, that has opened so many doors for me. And that’s all thanks to UCM.”

2026 Who's Who at UCM

Each year, the university recognizes a small number of seniors for their outstanding achievements. The Awards Selection Committee selects the Who’s Who honorees from nominations submitted by faculty, staff, and student organizations. Selection is based on leadership, scholarship, character, involvement in campus organizations and extra-curricular activities, service to the university, and involvement in one's academic department.

Of the roughly 1,300 undergraduate students graduating in 2025-26, only 14 were selected for Who’s Who. This year’s recipients are Foreman; Oden; Annie Alford, Sociology and Gender and Sexuality Studies, Kansas City, Missouri; Alexis Barnes, Political Science, St. Charles, Missouri; Anna Crede, Elementary Education Grades 1-6, Westphalia, Missouri; Amber Danner, Human Development and Family Science, Richmond, Missouri; Charles Grumke, Professional Pilot, Higginsville, Missouri; Zora McCormick, Events Marketing and Management, Blue Springs, Missouri; Avery Penn, Psychology and Criminal Justice and Criminology, Kansas City, Missouri; Therese Reindl, Chemistry, Regensburg, Bavaria, Germany; Tristan Satterlee, Educational Studies and Training, Osage Beach, Missouri; Rosalyn Schuster, Musical Theatre, Nixa, Missouri; Matthew Smith, Psychology, Kansas City, Missouri; and Trista Tipton, Speech-Language Pathology, Chillicothe, Missouri.

Charno finalists were Crede, Foreman, McCormick, Oden and Tipton.