The Board of Regents honored two professors and an academic department at three University of Wisconsin System universities with their 2009 Teaching Excellence awards.
The regents announced Nov. 6 Michael Cox, professor of biochemistry at UW-Madison, D?na Warren, associate professor of philosophy at UW-Stevens Point and the UW-Parkside Theatre Arts Department as recipients of the award.
According to Eric Anderson, chair of the Board of Regents committee that oversees the awards, the board that chooses the faculty members and department is made up of both students and staff. The board has honored faculty and staff that demonstrate teaching excellence since 1992.
According to Aaron Brower, professor and vice provost for teaching and learning at UW-Madison, Cox was chosen from thousands of higher education instructors in the state because of the clear expectations he sets for his students and his passion to help them meet those expectations.
In a statement from the UW System, Cox’s “open door” policy to his students and efforts to put students first distinguished him among other educators.
UW System spokesperson David Giroux said there has been a legacy of UW-Madison professors and departments receiving the award, including the Bradley Learning Community in 1998 and English professor Cyrena Pondrom in 2001.
The recipients will receive a $5,000 stipend for professional purposes, and the award will be presented to the faculty members and department at the Board of Regents meeting Dec. 11.
“[This award] is a wonderful thing. Undergraduate education is what we strive to do best, and we find this choice very appropriate,” Anderson said.
Anderson said UW-Stevens Point has had a number of other faculty members win the award, including music professor Charles Young in 2000 and himself, as a professor of natural resources in 2004.
David Buchanan, a UW-Parkside spokesperson, said the Theatre Department at Parkside has added rigor to their program. The increased interest has made the program more difficult to gain entry. There have been additions of dialect coaches, choreographers and overall improvements to the sound and lighting systems that go into the productions.
“I think that students who have seriously utilized all of this department’s assets will graduate with knowledge far beyond their intended area of focus,” said Chad Bay, a senior and member of the Theatre Department at UW-Parkside. “Along the way, [these students] will have cultivated creative critical thinking skills and a desire to work both tirelessly and passionately that I rarely see elsewhere.”
English professor Patrick McGuire and Professor of English and womens studies Carol Vopat both won the award for UW-Parkside in the past, among others.
“It is important for regents to celebrate excellent teaching. We are proud our staff does good work. Good teaching happens a lot. It’s not stem cell research, it’s not meeting with the Dalai Lama, but it is important and should be celebrated,” Brower said.