The 2026 Outstanding Teaching Awards: Alex Farone

Each Wednesday this summer, UKNow is highlighting a winner of the University of Kentucky’s 2026 Outstanding Teaching Awards, given by the Office for Faculty Advancement with the Office of the Provost.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 10, 2026) — Alex Farone, Ph.D., a former University of Kentucky graduate teaching assistant, is among 10 educators honored with UK’s 2026 Outstanding Teaching Awards.

These awards identify and recognize UK faculty and graduate teaching assistants who demonstrate special dedication to student achievement. Recipients were selected via nomination and reviewed by a selection committee based in the UK Provost’s Office for Faculty Advancement and the Center for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching.

Farone earned his Ph.D. in political science from UK this May, where he served as a graduate teaching assistant in the Department of Political Science in the College of Arts and Sciences. Farone’s research focuses on the politics of the U.S. Supreme Court and its relationship with the public and other political institutions. His work has explored topics including citizens’ responses to efforts to overturn the 2024 presidential election, reactions to judicial scandals and how these dynamics shape perceptions of the court’s legitimacy. His research on behavioral norms in Supreme Court dissenting opinions has been accepted for publication in Political Research Quarterly. He will continue his work this fall as an assistant professor at Jacksonville State University.

An experienced instructor, Farone is known for fostering active, discussion-based learning environments that center student engagement and critical thinking. As part of this summer series, UKNow connected with Farone to learn more about his experience and approach to teaching.

UKNow: How would you describe your area of expertise and why is the work important right now?

Farone: I focus most of my research and teaching on the United States judicial branch, specifically its structure, judges’ behavior and public reactions to judicial decisions. Having an informed citizenry regarding the judicial branch is always important, but especially now. Since I started at UK in 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court has been the focus of considerable controversy and scrutiny. Providing students with the information and context surrounding the court so that they can evaluate what is and isn't true helps, I hope, to better understand the world they reside in. 

UKNow: What core principles guide your approach to teaching, and how do those show up in your classroom or learning environments?

Farone: Student engagement is, in my opinion, paramount to active learning and content retention, and it is necessary for my teaching style. To ensure engagement remains high, I implement scheduled, low-stress “cold calls” in which the student can be asked anything about that day’s content on the scheduled day, and as long as the student participates and tries to give a right answer, they receive full credit. This method allows me to ensure that students are participating and recalling content while also creating an environment where participation of any kind is a net positive. I often have students present ideas or questions I may not have considered, and I can spend time discussing them, oftentimes with students providing key insights. 

UKNow: Can you share a moment — inside or outside the classroom — that affirmed the value of your work as an educator?

Farone: I explicitly remember spending time with a nonpolitical science major student in one of my classes because he was interested in the study of institutions, and spending a lot of time outside of class going into more detail about how the judicial branch is designed. I then taught him in another course, where I helped him identify additional areas of the law he was passionate about, and he eventually volunteered his time to serve his community. I wrote him a letter of recommendation, and I believe he will be attending law school at the UK Rosenberg College of Law in the fall. He would have been successful at anything he chose to do, but nurturing his passion for law and justice provided him with a path he would both excel at and find personally rewarding. 

UKNow: What do you hope your students take with them after they leave your courses?

Farone: I hope my students take the confidence I try to instill in my classroom and apply it to all other facets of their lives. I do my best to create an environment where there are no truly wrong answers as long as you are trying to get a right answer, because I know from experience that speaking in class can be difficult. Practicing their public speaking in a low-stress environment, like my classroom, provides students with a skill that is essential no matter the career they choose.

UKNow: What does receiving the Outstanding Teaching Award mean to you?

Farone: It's a huge honor to receive this award. While my name is on the award, I did not win it alone. Instead, my teaching style and abilities come from every teacher and professor I’ve had over my time as a student. I share this award with the outstanding faculty at UK who helped mold me into the instructor I am today, the incredible professors at Middle Tennessee State University, whom I’ve modeled much of my style after, and the exceptional public school teachers I’ve had who fostered my desire to keep learning. I am a function of all the time spent mentoring and instructing me, and I will always be thankful for those who put me on this path.

****

This year’s Outstanding Teaching Awards were given to six faculty and four graduate teaching assistants. Each winner received an award certificate, a commemorative engraved gift and a cash award in recognition of their teaching excellence at a campus ceremony on April 30. Read more here.