MBU debuted four new teaching awards at a reception after the last faculty meeting on May 16: the Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award, the Graduate Teaching Fellow Excellence in Teaching Award, the Faculty Excellence in Online Teaching Award, and the Part Time/Adjunct Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award.
The Excellence in Teaching awards recognize and celebrate MBU’s best academic instructors, create incentives for continued improvement in teaching, and provide outlets for award-winners to share ideas with colleagues. Recipients are selected by their faculty peers, and each award is accompanied by a one-time stipend of $1,000.
The awards were designed to be inclusive, recognizing full-time faculty in traditional classroom settings and in online courses, as well as part-time and adjunct faculty and graduate teaching fellows.
Under the direction of Provost Ty Buckman, Rachel Potter, dean of the College of Education; Amy Diduch, professor of economics; and Paul Menzer, dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts, spearheaded the initiative to research and recommend awards to recognize teaching excellence across the university.
The four new awards join the Menk Award, which is presented to help support a faculty member on sabbatical and is made possible by an endowed fund.
Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award
Annually recognizing a full-time faculty member’s commitment to the profession through teaching, presented with a $1,000 stipend.
Mary Clay Thomas, Associate Professor of Social Work and Director of the Social Work Program
The committee members described Thomas as “inspirational” and praised her work within the MBU and broader communities, building and strengthening partnerships. Her thoughtful personal statement ably displays how she regularly adapts her courses to encourage the professional and personal growth of her students.
Graduate Teaching Fellow Excellence in Teaching Award
An annual award that recognizes a graduate teaching fellow’s commitment to the profession of academia through teaching undergraduate students, presented with a $1,000 stipend.
Claire Wittman, graduate assistant in the Shakespeare and Performance graduate program
A student writes of Wittman that she is “one of the most creative and flexible professors I’ve ever had.” One example of this creativity occurred in an ENG 102 class, where she engaged even the most reluctant students in a short play-writing exercise. Her personal statement demonstrates a desire to help students learn in ways that are most meaningful to them.
Faculty Excellence in Online Teaching Award
An annual award recognizing a full-time colleague’s commitment to the profession of academia through online teaching, presented with a $1,000 stipend.
Clayton Brooks, assistant professor of history
A student writes of Brooks that “getting her comments back on my essays and papers lifted me up as if I had won the lotto! I developed a passion for writing, a love for history, and even managed to maneuver my way through modern-day technology a little better … all because of her personal attention and dedication to my success.” The committee noted her clear online course structure, her extensive student feedback, and her thoughtful methods of delivering online content to meet different learning style preferences.
Part Time/Adjunct Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award
An annual award that recognizes a part-time or adjunct colleague’s commitment to the profession of academia through teaching on-campus and/or online, presented with a $1,000 stipend.
Kate Franzen, assistant professor of history
A word frequency search of Franzen’s course evaluations would undoubtedly highlight “engaging” and “loved.” Creative methods include the use of stories drawn from her own experiences to help students understand the “why” of history. She articulates clearly how she adapts her courses — both on campus and online — to the needs of her students.
Menk Award
The Menk Award is presented to help support a faculty member on sabbatical and is made possible by an endowed fund. The award honors two outstanding Mary Baldwin faculty, the late Patricia H. Menk, professor emerita of history and college historian, and her late husband, Karl F. Menk, associate professor of microbiology.
Amy Tillerson-Brown, professor of history
For her sabbatical in fall 2019 and May Term 2020, Tillerson-Brown is working on completing a manuscript on the role of African-American women in Prince Edward County during the closing of the public schools. Her work highlights their activist leadership, despite racism and sexism, through churches in their community in the era of “massive resistance.”