UK honors 2026 Outstanding Teaching Award winners
LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 1, 2026) — The University of Kentucky celebrated exceptional faculty and graduate teaching assistants with Outstanding Teaching Awards during the 2026 UK Faculty Awards Ceremony, April 30 on campus.
The Outstanding Teaching Awards annually honor faculty and graduate teaching assistants who demonstrate excellence as instructors across all learning environments. Selected through a nomination process, candidates and finalists are reviewed by faculty-driven committees empaneled by the Office for Faculty Advancement and the Center for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching (CELT).
“The Outstanding Teaching Awards recognize the many ways teaching excellence impacts student learning and success across our disciplines and learning environments,” said Trey Conatser, Ph.D., director of the CELT. “The nominees, finalists and winners collectively demonstrate both the scholarly and deeply human work of teaching, which is fundamental to our mission to advance Kentucky.”
Award criteria include effective, engaging and scholarly teaching practices; positive impact on student learning and success; innovative approaches to curriculum and pedagogy; reflective teaching grounded in continuous improvement; and meaningful contributions to the department, college, university or discipline.
There are two categories of faculty awards and one graduate teaching assistant award. Winners receive certificates, statuettes and cash prizes.
The winners of the 2026 Outstanding Teaching Awards are:
Faculty
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Brent Harrison, Ph.D., Stanley and Karen Pigman College of Engineering
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Shelita Jackson, D.S.W., College of Social Work
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Yeonjung Kang, Ph.D., Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment
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Darshak Patel, Ph.D., Gatton College of Business and Economics
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Savannah Robin, Ed.D., Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment
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Ryan Voogt, Ph.D., Lewis Honors College
Graduate teaching assistants
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Alex Farone, College of Arts and Sciences
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Edgar Garcia-Velozo, College of Arts and Sciences
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Faith Hensley, College of Arts and Sciences
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Clara Mitchinson, College of Education
Starting in June, UKNow will highlight each of the Outstanding Teaching Award winners.
The Graduate School also recognized recipients of the Albert D. and Elizabeth H. Kirwan Memorial Prize and the William B. Sturgill Award during the ceremony.
Guoqiang Yu, Ph.D., of the Stanley and Karen Pigman College of Engineering, received the Kirwan Memorial Prize, which recognizes collaborative research efforts and contributions to fostering an environment that promotes high-quality research and scholarship at UK.
Rachel Shane, Ph.D., of the College of Fine Arts, received the William B. Sturgill Award. Named in honor of alumnus William B. Sturgill, the award is presented annually to a graduate faculty member for outstanding contributions to graduate education at UK.
Yu and Shane will also be highlighted in an upcoming UKNow spotlight.
For more information on these awards and to view a list of past winners, visit the Faculty Advancement website.
As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and healthcare. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $1.02 billion research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.