The Board of Regents of The University of Texas System has recognized 72 faculty members from institutions within the system for outstanding teaching, including 34 faculty members from The University of Texas at Austin.
The educators from the 15 institutions were honored as the 2010 Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award winners during a ceremony on The University of Texas at Austin campus on Aug. 11. They will share $2 million in awards.
The awards, which range from $15,000 to $30,000, are given to faculty members who demonstrate extraordinary classroom performance and innovation at the undergraduate level. The event marked the program’s second year.
“These awards show that the Board of Regents and the UT System are focused on rewarding excellence in the classroom, for it is there that our institutions provide the most critical facet of the university experience: the education of our students,” said Regents’ Chairman Colleen McHugh.
Award nominees must demonstrate a clear commitment to teaching and a sustained ability to deliver excellence to the undergraduate learning experience. In the competition for the awards, faculty candidates were subjected to rigorous examination of their teaching performance over three years by campus and external examiners.
Evaluations by students, peer faculty and external reviewers considered a range of activities and criteria, including classroom expertise, curricula quality, innovative course development and student learning outcomes.
A teaching portfolio was required to demonstrate pedagogical innovation, continuous improvement of course materials, overall teacher training experience and a statement of teaching philosophy and objectives.
“We have a clear duty to provide an exceptional education to our students. These awards not only further that goal, they help advance a culture of excellence that translates to better pedagogy and research, and, ultimately, to a stronger and more vibrant economy for this great state,” said UT System Chancellor Francisco G. Cigarroa, M.D.
Among those honored throughout the system this year were 38 tenured faculty members, who each received $30,000 awards. Seventeen tenure-track faculty each received $25,000 awards and another 17 contingent faculty each received $15,000 awards. Besides the cash awards, winners also received a bronze medallion and a certificate commemorating the achievement.
“We believe in rewarding excellence, but we also believe in setting rigorous standards in our teaching awards,” said David B. Prior, UT System’s executive vice chancellor for academic affairs. “Therefore, we know these educators incorporate the very best teaching methods and that they impart cutting-edge concepts and information based on scholarship and research.”
A list of names and the institutions at which they teach is available online.
Tenured award recipients from The University of Texas at Austin include:
- Eric V. Anslyn, Ph.D., the Norman Hackerman Professor and University Distinguished Teaching Professor, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, College of Natural Sciences.
- William D. Carlson, Ph.D., Peter T. Flawn Centennial Chair in Geology, University Distinguished Teaching Professor, Department of Geological Sciences, Jackson School of Geosciences.
- Mia Carter, Ph.D., associate professor of English, University Distinguished Teaching Associate Professor, Department of English, College of Liberal Arts.
- Alan Kaylor Cline, Ph.D., the David Bruton, Jr. Professor of Computer Science, professor of mathematics, University Distinguished Teaching Professor and director, Dean’s Scholars Honors Program, Department of Mathematics, College of Natural Sciences.
- Elizabeth Danze, FAIA, associate professor in architecture, School of Architecture.
- Patrick Davis, Ph.D., the Eckerd Centennial Professor, University Distinguished Professor, senior associate dean for academic affairs, College of Pharmacy
- Franchelle Stewart Dorn, M.F.A., the Virginia L. Murchison Regents Professor, Academy of Distinguished Teachers, Head of Acting Program, Department of Theatre and Dance, College of Fine Arts.
- George B. Forgie, Ph.D., University Distinguished Teaching Associate Professor, Department of History, College of Liberal Arts.
- Wallace T. Fowler, Ph.D., P.E., professor of aerospace engineering and engineering mechanics, the Paul D. and Betty Robertson Meek Centennial Professor of Engineering, University Distinguished Teaching Professor, Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, Cockrell School of Engineering.
- Judith A. Jellison, Ph.D., the Mary D. Bold Regents Professor in Music and Human Learning, University Distinguished Teaching Professor, Sarah and Ernest Butler School of Music, College of Fine Arts.
- Desmond F. Lawler, Ph.D., P.E., professor, the Bob R. Dorsey Professor of Engineering, Distinguished Teaching Professor, Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering.
- Marc Lewis, Ph.D., associate professor, Department of Psychology, College of Liberal Arts.
- Christopher Long, Ph.D., professor and director of the Architectural History Program, School of Architecture.
- Beth Maloch, Ph.D., associate professor, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, College of Education.
- Jayadev Misra, Ph.D., professor and the Schlumberger Centennial Chair, Department of Computer Science, College of Natural Sciences.
- Ramesh K. S. Rao, D.B.A., the McDermott Professor of Banking and Finance, Department of Finance, McCombs School of Business.
- J. Craig Wheeler, Ph.D., the Samuel T. and Fern Yanagisawa Regents Professor of Astronomy, Department of Astronomy, College of Natural Sciences.
- Kristin L. Wood, Ph.D., the Cullen Trust Endowed Professor in Engineering No. 1 and University Distinguished Teaching Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering.
Tenure track award recipients from The University of Texas at Austin include:
- Tiffany M. Gill, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of History and Department of African and African Diaspora Studies, College of Liberal Arts.
- Frank A. Guridy, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of History, College of Liberal Arts
- Dorothee Honhon, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Information, Risk and Operations Management (IROM), McCombs School of Business.
- Coleman Hutchison, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of English, College of Liberal Arts.
- Carolyn Conner Seepersad, Ph.D., assistant professor, Mechanical Engineering Department, Cockrell School of Engineering.
- David Shields, assistant professor of design, Department of Art and Art History, College of Fine Arts.
- Dionicio R. Siegel, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, College of Natural Sciences.
- Michael Williamson, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Accounting, McCombs School of Business.
Contingent faculty award recipients from The University of Texas at Austin include:
- Andrea Patrice Beckham, senior lecturer, Department of Theatre and Dance, College of Fine Arts.
- Michael W. Brandl, Ph.D., senior lecturer in economics and finance, Department of Finance, McCombs School of Business.
- Lisa Dobias, senior lecturer, Department of Advertising, College of Communication.
- Fatima Fakhreddine, Ph.D., senior lecturer, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, College of Natural Sciences.
- Leanne H. Field, Ph.D., distinguished senior lecturer, School of Biological Sciences, College of Natural Sciences.
- Wm. Arlyn Kloesel, B.S., R.Ph., distinguished senior lecturer, College of Pharmacy.
- Cynthia LaBrake, Ph.D., senior lecturer, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, College of Natural Sciences.
- Anne Lewis, senior lecturer, Department of Radio-Television-Film, College of Communication.
The awards program was established by the Board of Regents in August 2008 as the latest in a series of UT System-sponsored activities aimed at fostering innovative approaches to teaching, research and commercialization endeavors at all 15 UT System institutions.
In 2004, the System launched the Science and Technology Acquisition and Retention (STARs) Program, which created a multi-million dollar fund to recruit and retain top-flight researchers to UT institutions. Researchers recruited and/or retained under the program have generated more than $345 million in sponsored research at UT institutions.
In 2005, the Chancellor’s Health Fellows program was established to enhance faculty collaborations and achievements, and other communications projects, among the health and academic campuses. That same year, the Innovations in Health Science Education program was created to recognize innovation and achievement in undergraduate or graduate health science education. The top prize for that program is $7,500.
And in 2007, the UT System initiated the $2 million Texas Ignition Fund (TIF), which recognizes extraordinary research discovery. TIF grants of up to $50,000 are used to help move inventions from the laboratory to the commercial marketplace. Also in 2007, the UT System established the annual Chancellor’s Innovations in Education Awards — $5,000 prizes which recognize faculty who demonstrate teaching excellence; and the Chancellor’s Entrepreneurship and Innovation Awards, which reward outstanding individual and collaborative accomplishments in research and innovation. Prizes in that category can reach $15,000.
