Provost Honors Outstanding Teaching

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 23, 2010) – Six professors and four graduate teaching assistants at the University of Kentucky have been selected to receive the 2010 Provost's Outstanding Teaching Awards. This year the awards honor one tenured faculty member employed for at least 10 years at UK; one tenured faculty member employed at the university for fewer than 10 years; two non-tenured faculty members; two lecturers; and four teaching assistants.

The award recognizes faculty and graduate teaching assistants who demonstrate special dedication and outstanding performance in the classroom or laboratory. Recipients are selected via nomination and review by a selection committee based in the Office of the Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs. Winners receive cash prizes of $5,000 for tenured faculty, $3,500 for non-tenured faculty, $2,000 for lecturers and $1,000 for teaching assistants.

The winners for 2010 include:

Tenured Faculty:

William Rayens is a professor and director of Undergraduate Studies in the Department of Statistics in the College of Arts and Sciences. He came to UK in 1986 after obtaining his doctorate in mathematics from Duke University. Rayens' research is primarily in the area of exploratory multivariate analysis, notably partial least squares and related methods. 

Jeff Rodgers is an associate professor and director of Undergraduate Studies in the Department of Modern & Classical Languages' Division of German Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences. His research interests include German film, globalization and cultural production. He holds a doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania.

Non-Tenured Faculty:

Bryan Hains is an assistant professor of agricultural education in the College of Agriculture's Department of Community and Leadership DevelopmentHains’ research focus is in the area of neuroeducation, exploring the application of neuropsychological and emotional principles toward learning and cognition.  He holds a Ph.D. from Purdue University..  

Tracy Kitchel is an assistant professor in the Department of Community and Leadership Development and director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning for the College of Agriculture. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Missouri in 2005 and currently teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in agricultural education, focusing on the movement of teachers from novices to experts.  

Lecturers:

Jennifer Cowley is a lecturer with the College of Nursing. She received her master's in nursing from UK in 1987. In her 20 years of experience as a clinical instructor and lecturer, she has taught pathopharmacology since its inception in the undergraduate program. She is also coordinator, lecturer and clinical instructor in the adult med-surg course.

Bruce Holle is a senior lecturer in the College of Arts and Sciences for the Department of History. His focus is Greek history, 700-500 BCE and Early Christianity to 350 CE. He received his doctorate from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor in 1978.

Teaching Assistants:

Andrew Battista is a graduate teaching assistant and Ph.D. candidate in the College of Arts and Sciences' Department of English. He received his master’s degree in English literature and master's of library science from State University of New York at Buffalo in 2005. His focus is in early-modern English literature, ecocritcism, religion and literature.

T. Garrett Graddy is an adjunct professor in the College of Arts and Sciences for the Department of Geography and is currently a Ph.D. candidate. She received his master’s degree in theological studies from the Harvard Divinity School in 2004 Her research interests include political and cultural ecology of seeds, sustainable agriculture, religion/cosmovision, environmental ethics, bioethics, and gender and critical development studies.

Jeffrey Gross is a graduate teaching assistant in the English Department in the College of Arts and Sciences and is currently a Ph.D. candidate. He received his master’s degree from Indiana State University in 2005. His research focus is in the 19th-century American literatures and cultures, African-American studies, Native American studies, and gender studies.

Justin Taylor is a graduate teaching assistant in the College of Arts and Sciences for the Department of Mathematics and is a Ph.D. candidate. He received his master's degree in mathematics from UK, and his research interest is in analysis and partial differential equations. Taylor was a member of the U.S. Marine Corps before coming to UK.

A reception hosted by UK Provost Kumble Subbaswamy was held in the Main Building Friday, April 23. The reception honored the Outstanding Teaching Award recipients as well as the Distinguished Service Award and Public Scholar Award winners.

For more information on the 2010 Outstanding Teachers Award, visit the Office of the Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs website.