Winners Saluted for Extraordinary Performance in Undergraduate Education

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Washington, D.C.—Four college and university educators who actively engage their undergraduate students in hands-on research and extensive team work are the national winners of the 2009 U.S. Professors of the Year Awards.

Administered by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education and sponsored by The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, the awards recognize professors for their influence on teaching and their commitment to undergraduate students. In addition to the four national winners, state-level Professors of the Year are being recognized in 36 states, the District of Columbia and Guam.

The national and state winners of the 2009 U.S. Professors of the Year award will be honored today at a luncheon and awards ceremony at the Willard InterContinental Washington in Washington, D.C. National winners will offer remarks after they are introduced by current or former students.

The four national winners are:

• Outstanding Baccalaureate Colleges Professor of the Year: Rob Thomas, professor of geology, at The University of Montana Western in Dillon, Mont. Thomas’s passion is teaching geology to students in the field so they can directly experience how the Earth works. With his help, the University of Montana Western became the first public university in the country to transition from regular semester courses to block scheduling. In “Experience One,” his geology students take a single course for 18 instructional days, working outdoors on real-world projects. For example, undergraduate students in his environmental field studies class conducted an analysis of stream restoration on the upper Big Hole River and drafted a 150-page assessment report—in 18 days. The project was a collaborative effort with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and local ranchers to help preserve an endangered fish species.
   
• Outstanding Community Colleges Professor of the Year: Tracey McKenzie, professor of sociology, at Collin College in Frisco, Texas. McKenzie creates a collaborative learning environment in which students are both teachers and learners. Much of her teaching is through “learning communities,” which are interdisciplinary, team-taught courses designed around a theme. She engages students in these communities in original research and encourages them to present their work to a wider audience. McKenzie’s leadership contributed to the program receiving national recognition and interest from colleges in other states. McKenzie also empowers students to take on larger roles on and beyond campus through the Student Leadership Academy, one of only a few community college student leadership academies in the nation.
   
• Outstanding Doctoral and Research Universities Professor of the Year: Brian P. Coppola, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Chemistry, at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Coppola encourages undergraduates to explore the teaching and learning of chemistry—from writing the text of the course and constructing the lab syllabus to participating in peer instruction and teaching groups. He engages students on a broader level through “structured study groups,” supplemental instruction sessions in which undergraduates develop original research proposals based on contemporary chemical literature. Coppola bases the questions for the final exam on the student-generated work. This concept of using teaching groups for complex teaching is finding broad appeal among many educational institutions. As co-director of the IDEA Institute, Coppola is also implementing the concept at the K-12 level and is collaborating on similar projects with international colleagues.
   
• Outstanding Master’s Universities and Colleges Professor of the Year: Richard L. Miller, professor of psychology, at the University of Nebraska at Kearney. Miller helps undergraduate students critically examine and contribute to the knowledge base in psychology. For all of his classes, he designs optional lab experiences in which small groups define and investigate a real question that could – and often does – lead to a new discovery. Students plan and conduct all aspects of their studies, from obtaining the participants to coding and analyzing the data and structuring their papers. Many have presented and published their research results. Miller’s leadership in teaching and research helped strengthen the commitment to teaching throughout the psychology department, which received the University of Nebraska system-wide teaching excellence award.

The U.S. Professors of the Year awards program, created in 1981, is the only national initiative specifically designed to recognize excellence in undergraduate teaching and mentoring.

John Lippincott, president of CASE, said the 2009 national and state winners represent the best in undergraduate teaching and mentoring.

“These professors have a passion for teaching that sparks a passion for learning in their students,” Lippincott said. “As great teachers, they combine a profound knowledge of their disciplines with creative teaching methods to engage students within and outside of the classroom. We celebrate their achievements and contributions to teaching and student learning.”

Anthony Bryk, president of The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, said that the four winners have shaped both the lives of their students and the well-being of their communities.

“These dedicated teachers are not only leading their students to develop a deep understanding of their respective fields—geology, sociology, psychology and chemistry—but they are also mirroring examples of scholarship, citizenship and community involvement that ultimately will lead to contributions toward a better society and indeed a better world.”

This year’s U.S. Professors of the Year award winners were selected from a pool of more than 300 nominees. Judges select national and state winners based on four criteria: impact on and involvement with undergraduate students; scholarly approach to teaching and learning; contributions to undergraduate education in the institution, community and profession; and support from colleagues and current and former undergraduate students.

TIAA-CREF, a financial services and retirement investment organization, is the principal sponsor of the awards ceremony. Phi Beta Kappa, an academic honorary, sponsors an evening congressional reception for the winners at the Folger Shakespeare Library.

Other sponsors of the awards program are the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, the American Association of Community Colleges, the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, the American Association of University Professors, the Association of Community College Trustees, the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities, the Council of Independent Colleges and the National Council of University Research Administrators.

Contact: Pamela Russell, CASE
(202) 478-5680

About Carnegie: Founded by Andrew Carnegie in 1905 and chartered in 1906 by an Act of Congress, The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching is an independent policy and research center with a primary mission "to do and perform all things necessary to encourage, uphold and dignify the profession of the teacher." The improvement of teaching and learning is central to all of the work of the foundation.

About CASE: The Council for Advancement and Support of Education is one of the largest international associations of education institutions, serving more than 3,400 universities, colleges, schools and related organizations in 63 countries. CASE is the leading resource for professional development, information and standards in the fields of education fundraising, communications, marketing and alumni relations.

About TIAA-CREF: TIAA-CREF is a national financial services organization and the leading provider of retirement services in the academic, research, medical and cultural fields.

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