Teaching Excellence Awards Honor Faculty
July 2, 2009
Program spreads to all A&M System universities
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The Texas A&M University System awarded $507,000 to outstanding faculty throughout the system in the second presentation of the Teaching Excellence Awards, a voluntary, student-selected honors program launched last fall.
The 144 faculty winners will receive checks ranging from $2,500 to $10,000. Texas A&M University had the most recipients, with 54, followed by Texas A&M University-Commerce, 17; Prairie View A&M University, 15; Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, 13; West Texas A&M University, 12; Texas A&M International University, 10; Texas A&M University at Galveston, 7; Texas A&M University-Kingsville, 9; Tarleton State University, 4; Texas A&M University-Texarkana, 3.
The recipients represent the top 20 percent of those who participated. The top 5 percent are awarded $5,000 to $10,000. The next 15 percent receive $2,500 to $5,000. Awards are based on rankings from evaluations created and administered by students, with weighting for factors such as class size.
The program was initiated by Chancellor Michael D. McKinney in 2008 to honor and financially reward the system’s top teachers as selected by students. For the spring 2009 semester, the program expanded to all the campuses in the A&M System. All faculty who teach at least a 3-hour course are eligible.
“The expansion of the program makes it possible for students from all our university campuses to have a voice in rewarding outstanding teachers,” said McKinney. “I’m pleased to see the high level of participation among students and the enthusiasm they share in recognizing teachers who have made a positive impact on them in the classroom.”
Winners in the top 5 percent category, by campus are:
Texas A&M: Norvella Carter, Daniel Jennings, Christine Townsend, Amy Austin, James Herman, Angela Allen, Arnold Krammer, Wesley Watson, Haipeng Chen, Jamie Callahan, Michael Stephenson, David Cairns, and Joanna Lahey.
TAMUG: David Lawhon and Carol Bunch Davis.
PVAMU: Clarissa Booker, Lisa Thompson, Immaculata Igbo, Orion Ciftja, and Alex Colvin.
Tarleton: Kayla Peak, Michelle Staples and Jennifer Bow.
TAMIU: Patricia Gonzalez, Patrica Uribe and Veronica Juarez.
A&M-Corpus Christi: Pingjung Tintera, David Moury, Kelly Russell, Walter Sherman, Jim Lee, and Bunny Forgione.
Texas A&M-Kingsville: Fred Ponder and Scott Henke.
WTAMU: Ruby Willey-Rendon, Teri Bingham and Melody Loya.
A&M -Commerce: Matthew Elam, Jennifer Schroeder, Rhonda Clark, Raymond Green, Jason Wicke, and Rebecca Stephens.
A&M-Texarkana: Callie Fortenberry.
Click here to download a full listing of award recipients by institution.
About the A&M System
The A&M System is one of the largest systems of higher education in the nation, with a budget of $3.04 billion. Through a statewide network of 11 universities, seven state agencies and a comprehensive health science center, the A&M System educates more than 109,000 students and makes more than 15 million additional educational contacts through service and outreach programs each year. Externally funded research brings in almost $676 million every year and helps drive the state’s economy.
