23 Across Campus Recognized With Teaching Awards

Posted on Feb. 16, 2004

Twenty-three teachers in 10 categories have been honored with the University’s 2004 Teaching Awards, the highest campuswide recognition for teaching excellence.

Tanner Faculty Awards for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching

Daniel P. Gitterman, assistant professor, public policy; Sherryl Kleinman, professor and director of undergraduate studies, sociology;Donna LeFebvre, lecturer and internship director, political science;Stephen W. Matson, professor and chair, biology; Bland Simpson, associate professor and director of the creative writing program, English.

These awards recognize excellence in inspirational teaching of undergraduate students, preferably with respect to influence on first- and second-year students. They 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.

Tanner Teaching Assistants’ Awards for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching

Glen Feighery , journalism and mass communication; Scott Halbritter , English; Lynn Owens , sociology; Suzanne Sreedhar , philosophy; and John Ware , English.

The award recognizes excellence in the teaching of undergraduates by graduate teaching assistants.

William C. Friday/Class of 1986 Award for Excellence in Teaching

Todd W. Taylor, associate professor, English.

This award, created with a gift from the class of 1986, honors full-time undergraduate faculty members who have exemplified excellence in inspirational teaching. 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

Thomas Oately, associate professor and associate chair, political science.

The award 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. 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 and pursuit of constructive change.

J. Carlyle Sitterson Freshman Teaching Award

Beth Kurtz-Costes, associate professor and director of undergraduate studies, psychology.

This award 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 was chancellor from 1966 to 1972.

Distinguished Teaching Awards for Post-Baccalaureate Instruction

James E. Faber, professor and director of graduate studies, cell and molecular physiology; David Guilkey, Boshamer Distinguished Professor, economics; Philip Gura, William S. Newman Distinguished Professor of American literature and culture, English; and Evelyne H. Huber , Morehead Alumni Professor of political science and director of the Institute of Latin American Studies, political science.

This award was first given by the University in 1995.

Mentor Award for Lifetime Achievement

David J. Holbrook, professor, toxicology-medicine.

This award was created in 1997 and acknowledges “teaching beyond the classroom.”

University Professor of Distinguished Teaching

Robert E. Daniels, associate professor, anthropology; and Stephen C. Bayne , professor, dentistry.

This award, given every three years, provides two three-year term professorships recognizing career teaching excellence. One is for tenured faculty in Academic Affairs, including professional schools, and one for tenured faculty in Health Affairs.

Johnston Teaching Excellence Award

Todd L. Austell, research assistant professor and director of the general chemistry laboratories, chemistry; and Eric S. Downing, associate professor and director of undergraduate studies, comparative literature.

Created in 1991, these awards are funded by the James M. Johnston Scholarship Program.

UNC Board of Governors Award for Excellence in Teaching

Gary Armstrong, Crist W. Blackwell Distinguished Professor, business.

Established in 1994, the awards are given annually to a tenured faculty member from each UNC System campus.

The University Committee on Teaching Awards, affiliated with the Office of the Provost, reviews and recommends nominees to the chancellor on nine award categories; alumni nominations also are considered. The James M. Johnston Scholarship Program oversees the Johnston Teaching Excellence Awards, in coordination with the campuswide committee. Honorees were recognized at the Feb. 15 UNC-Maryland men’s basketball game and will be recognized at a banquet this spring.

Winners of the University Teaching Awards for 2000 through 2003 can be found online.

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