The Board of Regents of The University of Texas System has chosen 27 faculty members from The University of Texas at Austin to receive 2014 Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Awards, its highest teaching honor.
The awards program is one of the nation’s largest monetary teaching recognition programs in higher education, honoring outstanding performance in the classroom and dedication to innovation in undergraduate instruction.
A total of $2.4 million will be awarded to educators from the UT System’s 15 academic and health institutions during a ceremony Wednesday, Aug. 20, at the Shirley Bird Perry Ballroom in the Texas Union at UT Austin.
The recipients from the College of Natural Sciences are:
- Lorenzo Alvisi, professor of computer science
- Jane Arledge, lecturer in the Department of Mathematics
- George Pollak, professor of neuroscience
- Elaine Rich, distinguished senior lecturer in the Department of Computer Science
- David A. Vanden Bout, professor in the Department of Chemistry
“Our excellence in teaching faculty is a critical part of the System’s vision of an institution of the first class,” said UT System Chancellor Francisco G. Cigarroa, M.D. “These awards are a reflection of the Regents placing the highest priority on undergraduate, graduate and professional teaching excellence System-wide.”
Established in 2008, the Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Awards program recognizes educators who deliver the highest quality of instruction in the classroom, the laboratory, the field or online.
Faculty members undergo a series of rigorous evaluations by students, peer faculty members and external reviewers. The review panels consider a range of activities and criteria in their evaluations including outstanding teaching, mentoring, personal commitment to students and motivating students in the classroom.
“UT Austin places a very high value on classroom teaching,” said UT Austin President Bill Powers. “I am pleased that the UT System is recognizing these 27 individual faculty members for their performance as teachers and their commitment to their students.”
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