Each year, Rice honors members of the university community who have served students through outstanding teaching, dedication and service. Here are recipients of some of this year's awards:
Nicolas Salgo Distinguished Teacher Award
The junior and senior classes bestowed upon Kasey Leigh Yearty, instructor of chemistry, Rice's oldest teaching award: the Nicolas Salgo Distinguished Teacher Award. Created in 1966, the award is funded by the Salgo-Noren Foundation.
Presidential Award for Mentoring
The Presidential Award for Mentoring went to Ashley Leeds, chair of the Department of Political Science; K. Ramesh, the Herbert S. Autrey Professor of Accounting; and Antonios Mikos, the Louis Calder Professor of Bioengineering and Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. The award is given to faculty members who demonstrate a strong commitment to mentoring graduate or undergraduate students.
Charles Duncan Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement
Daniel Domingues da Silva, associate professor of history; Simon Fischer-Baum, associate professor of psychological sciences; and Jacob Robinson, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering and associate professor of bioengineering, received the Duncan Award, which is presented by Rice deans upon the recommendation of senior faculty. It honors tenure-track or tenured faculty members who demonstrate outstanding performance in both teaching and scholarship.
Sophia Meyer Farb Prize for Teaching
Margarita Castromán, assistant professor of English, received the Sophia Meyer Farb Prize for Teaching. Given by Phi Beta Kappa, this award goes to a nontenured assistant professor or assistant teaching professor for outstanding teaching performance, as determined by student evaluations.
Sarah A. Burnett Teaching Prize in the Social Sciences
Özge Gürcanlı, senior lecturer in psychological sciences, and Clark Haptonstall, professor in the practice and chair of the Department of Sport Management, have been awarded the Sarah A. Burnett Teaching Prize in the Social Sciences.
STC Teaching Award
Undergraduates Leenah Abojaib, Avery Bullock and Sara Prabhu have been named winners of the Student-Taught Course (STC) Teaching Awards. They were selected by a committee of Center for Teaching Excellence Faculty Fellows based on a review of instructional materials and course evaluations. Karen Okoroafor received honorable mention.
Faculty Award for Excellence in University Service and Leadership
The recipients of the Faculty Award for Excellence in University Service and Leadership are Rebecca Richards-Kortum, the Malcolm Gillis University Professor and professor of bioengineering, and Ric Stoll, the Albert Thomas Professor of Political Science. This award is bestowed annually on a faculty member or members making significant and distinctive contributions to the mission of Rice through exceptional university service and leadership.
Faculty Award for Excellence in Professional Service and Leadership
Jane Grande-Allen, the Isabel C. Cameron Professor of Bioengineering, is the recipient of the Faculty Award for Excellence in Professional Service and Leadership. This award is bestowed annually to a faculty member or members making significant contributions to the academic profession or to the wider community (local, national or international) through professional service and leadership.
Faculty Award for Excellence in Research, Teaching and Service
The Faculty Award for Excellence in Research, Teaching and Service was given to Lydia Kavraki, the Noah Harding Professor of Computer Science, a professor of bioengineering, electrical and computer engineering and mechanical engineering, and Eden King, the Lynette S. Autrey Professor of Psychology. This award is bestowed periodically on a faculty member or members who fulfill the Rice academic ideal by exhibiting exemplary achievement in all aspects of faculty responsibilities: research, teaching and service.
Teaching Award for Excellence in Inquiry-Based Learning
Daniel Domingues da Silva, associate professor of history, and Daniel J. Catanese, assistant teaching professor of BioSciences, were chosen for the Teaching Award for Excellence in Inquiry-Based Learning. The award was established to bring attention to efforts across campus to fold inquiry and research into the curriculum; it recognizes faculty who demonstrate excellence in the use of inquiry-based learning methods in undergraduate teaching.
Graduate Teaching Assistant Award for Excellence in Student Support
Lucas Hildebrand Pires da Cunha, a graduate student in chemical engineering, has won the Graduate Teaching Assistant Award for Excellence in Student Support. The award honors a graduate student who excelled in providing support to students as a teaching assistant. Any work teaching assistants do with students in a course, whether during class, recitations or office hours, is considered student support.
Graduate Teaching Assistant Award for Excellence in Course Support
Julia Szabo, a graduate student in sociology, is being recognized with the Graduate Teaching Assistant Award for Excellence in Course Support. The focus of this award is on substantive contributions to course design and delivery, such as contributions to the design of the syllabus, individual assignments, online tutorials or the delivery of various in-class lessons and activities.
Graduate Liberal Studies John Freeman Faculty Teaching Award and Faculty Mentoring Award
Matthias Henze, the Isla Carroll and Percy E. Turner Professor of Biblical Studies, is the recipient of the Graduate Liberal Studies (GLS) John Freeman Faculty Mentoring Award. The annual award recognizes outstanding GLS faculty who make significant contributions to the program or in the service of its students.
Award for Excellence in Teaching in the School of Engineering
Don H. Johnson, the J.S. Abercrombie Professor Emeritus of Electrical and Computer Engineering, is the winner of the Award for Excellence in Teaching in the School of Engineering, which recognizes continued excellence in teaching and exemplary commitment to the education of undergraduate or graduate students.
Graduate Teaching Award for Independent Instruction
Kimberly Jones, a graduate student in history, and Cindy Dawson, a graduate student in religion, have received the Graduate Teaching Award for Independent Instruction, which honors graduate students for outstanding work teaching their own undergraduate courses. Graduate student Kevin MacDonnell received honorable mention.
Marjorie Corcoran Award
Janet Braam, the Wiess Professor of BioSciences, has been honored with the Marjorie Corcoran Award. The award is given to a Rice faculty member who has made major contributions to the advancement of women or underrepresented minorities in STEM fields - science, technology, engineering and mathematics - either in support of students at Rice or through local, state or national programs, with a particular commitment to engaged mentoring.
Sarofim Professor for Distinguished Teaching in the Humanities
Claire Fanger, associate professor of religion, has received the Allison Sarofim Distinguished Teaching Professorship in the Humanities. The award is given to mentors of undergraduate theses or similar scale projects, graduate students' directed readings or dissertations. It recognizes such one-on-one mentorship in the context of overall strong teaching in the faculty member's regular courses.