Twenty-two teachers in nine categories are this year’s recipients of UNC’s Distinguished Teaching Awards, the highest campuswide recognition for teaching excellence.
The award recipients were recognized during halftime of the UNC-NCSU men’s basketball game this week and also will be recognized by Chancellor James Moeser at an awards banquet this spring.
This year’s honorees come from the College of Arts and Sciences and the schools of medicine, pharmacy and public health.
The Tanner Faculty Awards for Excellence
in Undergraduate Teaching
The awards, which carry a one-time stipend of $5,000, were created in 1952 with a bequest by Kenneth S. Tanner ’11 and his sister, Sara Tanner Crawford, establishing an endowment fund in memory of their parents, Lola Spencer and Simpson Bobo Tanner.
The Tanner Teaching Assistants’ Awards
for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching
The awards, with a one-time stipend of $1,000, recognize excellence in the teaching of undergraduates by graduate teaching assistants.
William C. Friday/Class of 1986 Award
for Excellence in Teaching
The award, created with a gift from the class of 1986, honors full-time undergraduate faculty who have exemplified excellence in inspirational teaching. It includes a one-time stipend of $5,000. Friday, a 1948 law school graduate and the award’s namesake, is president emeritus of the UNC System and now is University Distinguished Professor on the Carolina campus.
John L. Sanders Award for Excellence
in Undergraduate Teaching and Service
The award, which carries a one-time stipend of $5,000, recognizes excellence in the teaching, advising and mentoring of undergraduate students in a manner consistent with the life and values of Sanders, a 1950 graduate and longtime director of the UNC Institute of Government, now part of UNC’s School of Government. The award was created in 1995 by Ben M. Jones III ’50 to honor Sanders, who has worked since his own undergraduate days to improve student life and governance. He also has advised generations of students and counseled effective political action in pursuit of constructive change.
J. Carlyle Sitterson Freshman Teaching Award
The award, carrying a one-time stipend of $5,000, was created in 1998 by the family of the late J. Carlyle Sitterson ’31 to recognize excellence in freshman teaching by a tenured or tenure-track faculty member in the College of Arts and Sciences. Sitterson was a Kenan professor of history and chancellor from 1966 to 1972.
Distinguished Teaching Awards
for Post-Baccalaureate Instruction
The award, carrying a one-time stipend of $5,000, was first given by the University in 1995.
Mentor Award for Lifetime Achievement
Created in 1997, this award acknowledges “teaching beyond the classroom” and carries a one-time stipend of $1,000.
Johnston Teaching Excellence Awards
Created in 1991, the award is funded by the James M. Johnston Scholarship Program, which provides need-based scholarships to the University. Recipients receive $5,000.
University Professor of Distinguished Teaching Award
This award, given every three years, provides two three-year term professorships recognizing career teaching excellence. One award is for tenured faculty in academic affairs, including professional schools, and one is for tenured faculty in health affairs. Each recipient receives a stipend of $3,000 annually.
UNC System Board of Governors’ Award
for Excellence in Teaching
The University Committee on Teaching Awards, affiliated with the Office of the Provost, reviews nominees, collects additional information and recommends nominees to the chancellor on six of the nine award categories. Separate committees in the College of Arts and Sciences chose winners of the Sanders and Sitterson awards, working closely with the campuswide committee. Fellows in the Johnston Scholarship Program nominate and select the Johnston Award winner and also work with the campuswide committee.
Recipients from previous years are listed online.