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The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has selected recipients of the 2010 teaching awards, the highest campus-wide recognition for teaching excellence.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has selected recipients of the 2010 teaching awards, the highest campus-wide recognition for teaching excellence.

The 21 honorees were chosen in nine separate categories. The winners were announced during halftime of the Carolina-Georgia Tech men’s basketball game Jan. 16, and they will be further honored by Chancellor Holden Thorp at an awards banquet April 15.

The University Committee on Teaching Awards, affiliated with the Office of the Provost, reviews nominees, collects additional information and recommends winners to the Chancellor for seven of the nine award categories. Joe Lowman, professor in the department of psychology in the College of Arts and Sciences, chaired the committee this year. Nominations for the awards can be submitted by Carolina faculty and students.

The Tanner Awards for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching go to five faculty members and carry a $7,500 stipend. The 2010 recipients are Claudio Battaglini of Durham, department of exercise and sport science; Robert Cantwell of Chapel Hill, department of American studies; Brian Hogan of Chapel Hill, department of chemistry; Elizabeth Jordan of Chapel Hill, department of psychology (all in the College of Arts and Sciences); and Greg Gangi of Carrboro, Institute for the Environment.

The Tanner Award was created in 1952 with a bequest by Kenneth Spencer Tanner, class of 1911, and his sister, Sara Tanner Crawford, to establish an endowment fund in memory of their parents, Lola Spencer and Simpson Bobo Tanner. In 1990, the University expanded the scope of the Tanner Awards to recognize excellence in the teaching of undergraduates by graduate teaching assistants as well.

The Tanner Awards for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching by Graduate Teaching Assistants are given to five graduate assistant teachers and carry a $5,000 stipend. The 2010 recipients, all in the College of Arts and Sciences, are Stacey Treat of Durham, department of communication studies; Ben White of Raleigh, department of religious studies; Pablo Maurette of Chapel Hill, department of Spanish; Dustin Long of Chapel Hill, department of biostatistics; and Andrew Pennock of Chapel Hill, department of political science.

Donald Hornstein of Raleigh, School of Law, received the William C. Friday/Class of 1986 Award for Excellence in Teaching, which honors one undergraduate faculty member and includes a stipend of $5,000.

The Friday Award was created by members of the 1986 graduating class to recognize members of the faculty who have exemplified excellence in inspirational teaching and is named in honor of William C. Friday, who devoted a lifetime of service to the University as president of the UNC system.

Omid Safi of Chapel Hill, in the College of Arts and Sciences’ department of religious studies, received the J. Carlyle Sitterson Freshman Teaching Award, which goes to a faculty member teaching first-year students and carries a $5,000 stipend.

The award was created in 1998 by the family of the late J. Carlyle Sitterson to recognize excellence in freshman teaching by a tenured or tenure-track faculty member in the College of Arts and Sciences. Sitterson was a Kenan professor of history and served as chancellor from 1966 to 1972.

The Distinguished Teaching Awards for Post-Baccalaureate Instruction go to four faculty members and carry a stipend of $5,000. The recipients are Shenyang Guo of Morrisville, School of Social Work; Edward Kernick of Chapel Hill, School of Medicine; and in the College of Arts and Sciences Thomas Hill of Pittsboro, department of philosophy, and Robert MacCallum of Chapel Hill, department of psychology. The award was first given by the University in 1995.

Elizabeth Gibson of Chapel Hill, School of Law, received the Mentor Award for Lifetime Achievement, which acknowledges “teaching beyond the classroom.” Created in 1997, this award carries a one-time stipend of $1,000.

The Johnston Teaching Excellence Awards go to faculty members for excellence in undergraduate teaching. Recipients receive $5,000. The winners, both in the College of Arts and Sciences, are Daniel Wallace of Chapel Hill, department of English, and Albert K. Harris of Durham, department of biology. Created in 1991, the award is funded by the James M. Johnston Scholarship Program, which provides need-based scholarships to the University.

Michael Lienesch of Chapel Hill, in the College of Arts and Sciences department of political science, received the University Professor of Distinguished Teaching Award. This three-year term professorship with a stipend of $3,000 per year has been established to recognize career-long excellence in teaching.

This year’s Carolina nominee for the UNC Board of Governors’ Award for Excellence in Teaching is Rachel Willis of Chapel Hill, department of American studies.  Established by the Board of Governors in April 1994, the award carries a stipend of $7,500. One recipient is selected by each of the 16 constituent institutions of the UNC system. The UNC-Chapel Hill recipient is also the University’s nominee for the CASE U.S. Professors of the Year competition, a national award for outstanding undergraduate teaching.

News Services contact: Mike McFarland, (919) 962-8593, mike_mcfarland@unc.edu

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