Honoring Outstanding Teaching and Inclusive Excellence

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 23, 2018) — The University of Kentucky recognized exceptional faculty and teaching assistants at the Outstanding Teaching Awards at the 2018 University of Kentucky Awards Ceremony on Thursday, April 19, in the Lexmark Room at the Main Building. Recipients of Inclusive Excellence Awards, in partnership with the Office for Institutional Diversity, were also recognized.

UK Provost David Blackwell presented the William B. Sturgill Award, the Albert D. and Elizabeth H. Kirwan Memorial Prize, the Outstanding Teaching Faculty and Teaching Assistant Awards.

"The diversity of disciplines reflected in the Outstanding Teaching Award winners speaks to the breadth and depth that distinguishes the University of Kentucky," Blackwell said. "But, of course, no matter the discipline, each recipient shares something of lasting importance: the art of great teaching transcends any single discipline."

The Sturgill Award is named in honor of William B. Sturgill, who contributed to higher education in Kentucky through his gifts and service. This year, the Sturgill Award was presented to Dibakar Bhattacharyya, a faculty member in the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering in the College of Engineering.

The Kirwan Memorial Prize recognizes its namesakes' collaborative research efforts, as well as Albert Kirwan's endeavors at creating an environment at UK that promoted high quality research and scholarship. This year, the Kirwan Award was presented to Keh-Fei Liu from the Department of Physics and Astronomy, in the College of Arts and Sciences.

The Outstanding Teaching Faculty and Teaching Assistant Awards annually recognize faculty and graduate teaching assistants who demonstrate special dedication and outstanding performance in the classroom or laboratory. Recipients were selected via nomination and reviewed by a selection committee based in the Office for Faculty Advancement.

The 2018 UK Outstanding Teaching Faculty Award recipients are:

• Roger Brown, Department of Agricultural Economics, College of Agriculture, Food and Environment;
• Lynn Phillips, Department of Geography, College of Arts and Sciences;
• Bradley Plaster, Department of Physics and Astronomy, College of Arts and Sciences;
• C. Ray Archer, Department of Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences;
• Christine Goble, Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering; 
• Wendy Liu, Department of Finance and Quantitative Methods, Gatton College of Business and Economics; and 
• Trenika Mitchell, Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science, College of Pharmacy.

The 2018 UK Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award winners are:

• Lauren Copeland, Department of Gender and Women's Studies, College of Arts and Sciences;
• Alex Denison, Department of Political Science, College of Arts and Sciences;
• Rachel Petrik, Department of Mathematics, College of Arts and Sciences; and
• Annie Scott, Department of Modern and Classical Languages, Literatures and Cultures, College of Arts and Sciences.

The Inclusive Excellence Awards recognize the accomplishments of individuals and academic or professional units that demonstrate a sustained commitment to diversity and inclusion through campus and community involvement and exemplary leadership.

The 2018 Inclusive Excellence Award recipients are:

• Hadeel Abdallah, UK Student Coalition for Diversity and Inclusion;
• Brittany Rice, College of Medicine;
• Gerald L. Smith, College of Arts and Sciences;
• Carol Taylor-Shim, Division of Student and Academic Life; and 
• Human Development Institute, University Center for Excellence in Development Disabilities.