Twenty-Five on Faculty, Teaching Assistants Earn Awards

Posted on Jan. 20, 2021

Carolina has honored 25 faculty members and teaching assistants for their accomplishments with 2021 University Teaching Awards.

Given annually, these awards acknowledge the University’s commitment to outstanding teaching and mentoring for graduate and undergraduate students.

“Throughout a challenging year in the midst of a global pandemic, the winners quickly adapted to new ways of teaching. They persevered to maintain their focus on helping students become critical thinkers and problem solvers, while inspiring them to take on the most important challenges facing society,” said Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Robert A. Blouin.

The University Committee on Teaching Awards, which oversees the selection process, encouraged students to nominate deserving faculty and graduate teaching assistants for the awards. The committee sought nominations with specific examples that display the nominees’ care for students, mentorship and effective use of classroom methods.

This year’s winners are:

Board of Governors’ Award for Excellence in Teaching (nominee)

• Sharon James, professor of classics. As UNC’s nominee for the UNC System award, James will compete for the award with a nominee from each of the system campuses.

 

Distinguished Teaching Awards for Post-Baccalaureate Instruction

• Dr. Kenya McNeal-Trice, clinical professor of pediatrics

• Dr. Mina Hosseinipour ’04 (MPH), clinical professor of medicine

• Eileen Burker, professor of allied health sciences

• Martinette Horner ’96 (’16 EDd), clinical assistant professor of education

 

Tanner Awards for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching

• Elizabeth Havice, associate professor of geography

• Frank Leibfarth, assistant professor of chemistry

• Richard Goldberg, associate professor, applied physical sciences

• Brian Taylor, assistant professor, biology

• Yuki Aratake, professor, Asian and Middle Eastern studies

 

Carlyle Sitterson Award for Teaching First-Year Students

• Doria El Kerdany, associate professor, Asian and Middle Eastern studies

• Tanya Shields, Bowman and Gordon Gray Distinguished Term Professor, women’s and gender studies

 

Mentor Award for Lifetime Achievement

• Sandra Martin ’88 (PhD), professor of maternal and child health

 

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

• Kurt Gray, associate professor, psychology and neuroscience

 

Johnston Teaching Excellence Awards

• Maya Berry, assistant professor, African, African American and diaspora studies

• Hans Christianson, associate professor, mathematics

 

Chapman Family Teaching Awards

• Todd Austell ’87 (’96 PhD), professor, chemistry

• Lisa Woodley, associate professor, nursing

• Glenn Hinson, associate professor, anthropology

• Kris Jordan ’07, assistant professor, computer science

 

Tanner Awards for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching by Graduate Teaching Assistants

• Wonkyung Jang, School of Education

• Danielle Weber, psychology and neuroscience

• Ben Levy, physics and astronomy

• Pavel Nitchovski ’18 (MA), philosophy

• DeeAnn Spicer ’19 (MA), philosophy

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