For the second consecutive year, nine faculty members from The University of Texas at El Paso have received the highest form of recognition from The University of Texas System Board of Regents.
The honorees were presented with the Board of Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Awards during a special dinner in Austin Aug. 11. They were selected for their performance, innovative teaching techniques and commitment to teaching at the undergraduate level.
The recognition comes with a one-time monetary award of $30,000 for tenured faculty, $25,000 for tenure-track faculty, and $15,000 for contingent faculty.
The tenure awards went to Diane Doser, Ph.D., professor of geological sciences; Kristine Garza, Ph.D., associate professor of biological sciences; Mourat Tchoshanov, Ph.D., professor of mathematics education; and Robert Webking, Ph.D., professor of political science.
The tenure-track winners were Reynaldo Reyes, Ph.D., assistant professor of teacher education; Kristin Gosselink, Ph.D., assistant professor of biological sciences; and Stella Quiñones, Ph.D., assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering.
The contingent faculty honorees were Robin Grambling, senior lecturer, marketing and management; and Nancy Torres, lecturer, kinesiology.
“For the second year, UTEP faculty members have led The University of Texas academic institutions in the number and breadth of the Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Awards,” said Richard Jarvis, Ph.D., provost and vice president for academic affairs. “Many UTEP faculty work with both undergraduate and graduate students and that also underscores how teaching and research can and must complement each other in an emerging national research university. The faculty’s devotion to their students is matched only by their creativity in engaging them in the teaching-learning process.”
Candidates for the teaching awards were nominated at the campus level, then were evaluated on several criteria, including student and peer evaluations, teaching portfolio and student learning outcomes.
The awards program was established by the Board of Regents in August 2008 as the latest in a series of UT System initiatives aimed at fostering innovative approaches to teaching, research and commercialization endeavors at all 15 UT System institutions.
A total of 72 faculty members from UT System academic institutions were selected to receive the award, and will share $2 million in prize money.
“We have a clear duty to provide an exceptional education to our students. These awards not only further that goal, they help advance a culture of excellence that translates to better pedagogy and research, and, ultimately, to a stronger and more vibrant economy for this great state,” said UT System Chancellor Francisco G. Cigarroa, M.D.
