SBS Faculty Awarded Board of Regent's Outstanding Teaching Awards for 2011

Three faculty members in the School of Biological Sciences have been chosen by the Board of Regents of The University of Texas System to receive Outstanding Teaching Awards for 2011. Dr. Jeff Gross, Assistant Professor in the Section of Molecular Cell and Developmental Biology, Dr. Marty Shankland, Professor in the Section of Molecular Cell and Developmental Biology, and Dr. Dee Silverthorn, Senior Lecturer in the School of Biological Sciences, have been recognized for extraordinary classroom performance and innovation at the undergraduate level.

To be selected for the award, nominees had to demonstrate "a clear commitment to teaching and a sustained ability to deliver excellence to the undergraduate learning experience." Candidates were subjected to rigorous examination of their teaching performance over three years by campus and external examiners, and evaluations by students, peer faculty and external reviewers considered a range of activities and criteria, including classroom expertise and curricula quality.

The UT System's vision as an "institution of the first class" includes a commitment to continuous improvement in the quality of the education its faculty provides to its students. Various programs exist at the institution and System levels to recognize teaching excellence, but few focus exclusively on undergraduate education. The Board of Regents places the highest priority on undergraduate teaching at System universities. They wish to encourage teaching excellence by recognizing those faculty who deliver the highest quality of undergraduate instruction, demonstrate their commitment to teaching, and have a history and promising future of sustained excellence with undergraduate teaching in the classroom, in the laboratory, in the field, or online.

In accordance with these goals, the Board of Regents introduced the Regents' Outstanding Teachers Awards for the nine academic institutions in November 2008. The awards are a symbol of the importance they place on the provision of teaching and learning of the highest order, in recognition of those who serve our students in an exemplary manner and as an incentive for others who aspire to such service. These awards are believed to be among the highest in the nation for rewarding outstanding undergraduate faculty performance and innovation, the awards range from $15,000 to $30,000 and are offered in recognition of those who serve our students in an exemplary manner. Now in its third year, the Regents' Outstanding Teaching Awards demonstrate the UT System's commitment to exceptional performance and innovation in the classroom and undergraduate teaching of the highest order.

Posted by Steve Franklin