Nov 25, 2009

Top US Professors Recognized for Extraordinary Performance in Undergraduate Education

WASHINGTON, DC—The Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) in collaboration with the Carnegie Foundation annually recognizes excellence in undergraduate teaching and mentoring through the U.S. Professors of the Year Award. Selection criteria include: 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 as well as current and former undergraduate students.

This year, four college and university educators were honored:

  • Brian P. Coppola, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
  • Tracey McKenzie, Collin College, Frisco, Texas
  • Richard L. Miller, University of Nebraska at Kearney
  • Robert C. Thomas, University of Montana Western

In addition to the national winners, state-level professors of the year were recognized in 36 states, the District of Columbia, and Guam. Local winners included Joan B. Riley, Georgetown University (DC); Susan Bontems, Montgomery College (MD); and Kevin Hamed, Virginia Highlands Community College (VA).

Winners of these awards speak volumes about the institutions they represent. These are colleges and universities that value quality undergraduate teaching and mentoring. Note how the list of previous years’ institutional winners differs from other more “commercial” rating systems:

Year

Baccalaureate
Colleges

Doctoral & Research Universities

Master’s Universities and Colleges

2009

U of Montana Western

University of Michigan

U of NebraskaKearney

2008

Lewis & Clark College

Kansas State University

U of Central Oklahoma

2007

Smith College

Kansas State University

LSU Shreveport

2006

Reed College

UC Berkeley

Radford University

2005

College of Wooster

University of Michigan

California State University

2004

Williams College

U of Colorado-Boulder

Eastern Connecticut State

2003

Hendrix College

UVA

Lynchburg College

2002

Manchester College

University of Notre Dame

Santa Clara University

2001

US Coast Guard Academy

U of Alabama

UNC Charlotte

2000

College of the Holy Cross

Indiana University

University of Portland

For college applicants, it’s mostly a matter of what’s important to you. If excellence in teaching figures in the equation, look beyond artificial measures of prestige and investigate how well institutions deliver the goods.


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