Thirteen faculty members will be honored with the President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching during the annual Faculty Awards Convocation, Monday, March 23 at 10 a.m. in the Alys Stephens Center Sirote Theatre.
Other featured awards to be presented include the Ellen Gregg Ingalls/UAB National Alumni Society Award for Lifetime Achievement in Teaching and the Odessa Woolfolk Community Service Award.
The 2009 honorees for the President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching represent each school and the Joint Health Sciences departments.
 |
| Baulos |
Douglas Pierre Baulos
Arts & Humanities
Baulos, an instructor of art, received his undergraduate degree in fine arts from UAB in 1990 and his master from the University of New Orleans in 1993. His paintings, videos and books have been exhibited or published nationally and across Europe and Asia. Baulos is the curriculum director at Studio by the Tracks, a non-profit organization that provides free art classes to autistic and special-needs adults and emotionally conflicted children. One former student says of Baulos, “Three years after graduation from UAB, Doug is still a wonderful mentor for me. Without his support, I would not be where I am today. Most important, I know that my experience with Doug is not a unique one. He was a teacher to hundreds before me and continues to inspire other students to be both fine artists and humanitarians.”
 |
| Ayers |
Douglas J. Ayers
Business
Ayers, Ph.D., associate professor of marketing, has a reputation as a caring and dedicated teacher who puts the needs of students before his own interests. His peers laud his impact in the classroom and his willingness to help build programs that increase opportunities for business graduates. Ayers has four points to his teaching philosophy: Theory and practice, active/
experiential learning, the teachers as a resource and less is more. Ayers requires his marketing research students to conduct a full research study in the course because, “I’m convinced that’s the only way to learn about marketing research.” Students describe Ayers as a “fantastic teacher and a motivator to students to take their newfound knowledge to new levels.” Students in his courses are taught to approach business situations with wisdom and ethical character. They also appreciate his willingness to use real, hands-on projects to help them gain valuable experience that one current student says will “set us apart in our future careers.”
 |
| Gurmendi |
Raquel Mazer-Gurmendi
Dentistry
Mazer-Gurmendi, D.M.D., is a two-time graduate of UAB, associate professor of dentistry and director of the Operative Dentistry Section. She is an outstanding teacher who is able to motivate a person to succeed. One student says she identifies the strengths and weaknesses of her individual students and challenges each person to reach his or her full potential. “Her teaching philosophy in the clinic is honest and encouraging,” says one student. “Dr. Mazer takes an interest in her students’ progress and regularly evaluates each student’s skill level. She acknowledges when a student does good work but is not afraid to express her concern for students not meeting expectations.” Mazer thoroughly explains the fundamentals of clinical dentistry through her lectures, but keeps them interesting by interacting with students. She asks students to actively participate in class discussion and encourages them to generate solutions to different clinical scenarios she presents, bridging the classroom and clinical experiences for the junior dental student.
 |
| Spezzini |
Susan K. Spezzini
Education
Spezzini, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of English Language Learning (ELL) Education and program coordinator of ESL Teacher Education. She provides leadership, coordinates courses, internships and comprehensive exams, oversees adjunct instructors and internship supervisors, advises all students and represents the program internally and externally. Spezzini was the facilitator on the Project TEACH grant, a federal grant providing tuition support for graduate students seeking a master’s degree in special education and certification in English as a Second Language. Spezzini has worked for five years to build a nationally recognized graduate program in ESL at UAB. The passage rate of UAB students taking the Praxsis II ESL test is very high, and when a small group of students did not pass the test on their first attempt Spezzini took it personally, says a colleague. “She committed herself one night each week during an entire term to helping these students study for their second attempt on this exam. This commitment spoke volumes to me about Dr. Spezzini’s value as a teacher and person. What a role model she was to these students.” One former student says Spezzini’s classrooms are “lively and loud. No one just sat and took notes. Everyone was engaged in active learning. Concepts are explained, modeled, discussed and applied.”
 |
| Pollard |
Andrew E. Pollard
Engineering
Pollard, Ph.D., is a professor of engineering who routinely earns the highest scores for teaching effectiveness in the Department of Biomedical Engineering. Students rate him as knowledgeable, organized and prepared, and he is viewed as an excellent and engaging instructor. Colleagues say Pollard demonstrates a passion for teaching core and elective courses in biomedical engineering and is committed to improving his classroom teaching. As an example, he incorporated WebWork, a National Science Foundation-sponsored homework-management system, into his teaching and assessment of an intensive MATLAB programming course used to solve engineering problems. Student feedback for this course was overwhelmingly positive, with many students praising Pollard for his willingness to work with them outside class and post information on the course Web site. One former student says Pollard’s lectures are “captivating, yet presented in a manner that is easy to follow and comprehend.”
 |
| Rowe |
Jan Rowe
Health Professions
Rowe is an associate professor in occupational therapy with 20 years of service to the program. Her primary area of clinical expertise is pediatric intervention, and colleagues say she consistently demonstrates innovation in teaching. Through hands-on learning, she recognizes that students must apply their skills in the real world to gain critical reasoning and clinical excellence. “By bringing our students into the community, she has developed a network of practicing therapists whom she empowers to dedicate themselves to lifelong learning for themselves and our students,” says one colleague. “These community connections are critical to our student development.” A current student says Rowe presents material in the classroom that always is relevant and pertinent to their careers. “This is, in part, because she remains an active clinician,” the student says. “She introduces her students to current policies and theories affecting the field.”
 |
| Cotlin |
Laura Fraser Cotlin
Joint Health Sciences
Cotlin, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in cell biology who colleagues say has a great passion for the education of professional and graduate students. Cotlin was the module director of the new Fundamentals I curriculum in 2007, something one colleague says was the best thing that happened for the new curriculum. “Laura rose to the challenge of creating a new curriculum, coordinating many instructors who had never worked together, and most important, guiding the students through this trying time in their first year of medical school,” the colleague says. “I cannot recall ever reading so many exemplary evaluations of her performance in Fundamentals I. Her outstanding performance was rewarded in 2008 by receiving two School of Medicine Argus Society Awards, one for Best Introductory Module and another for Best Introductory Module Director. Students say Cotlin makes the material she teaches understandable. “She makes the material less overwhelming, which is hard to portray to first-year students,” the student says.
 |
| Abdullatif |
Hussein D. Abdullatif
Medicine
Abdullatif, M.D., an associate professor of pediatrics, has been identified by students, residents and other physicians as a caring, patient and dedicated teacher and physician. Students say Abdullatif is an outstanding instructor a caring and humanistic physician. He has won the Argus Society Award as the Best Attending in Pediatrics six of the past seven years. Because of his expertise in medical education, Abdullatif is the Pediatric Clerkship Director. He has introduced innovations such as the Student Morning Report, designed to give students a forum to critically think about and analyze their patient’s history and physical examinations. Abdullatif also is the clinical co-director for the endocrinology module in the new medical school curriculum. Those in the pediatric residency program say Abdullatif has an exemplary teaching style and they learn much from watching him interact with patients. “Watching his kind manner with patients sets a wonderful example to residents and all would strive to have similar interactions with their patients,” residents say.
 |
| Knowles |
Ian W. Knowles
Natural Sciences & Mathematics
Knowles, Ph.D., professor of mathematics, is described by students as an easily approachable, fair and open-minded instructor who makes himself available outside the classroom to explain difficult concepts and help students solve critical math problems. Since joining UAB in 1980, Knowles has been actively involved in teaching a wide range of mathematics courses and has developed several new ones, including modeling with PDE, scientific programming, differential equations with Matlab, stochastic partial differential equations and six graduate courses. Knowles has consistently received high ratings from his students in all of the courses he teaches. Some of the courses, including differential equations with Matlab and scientific programming, require innovative teaching skills and motivating students to remain focused and excited about the course content. One student says of Knowles, “He is a great teacher who teaches in an understandable and persuasive way and always gives us broad and thorough analysis with the material he presents.”
 |
| Appel |
Susan J. Appel
Nursing
Appel, Ph.D., an associate professor in the School of Nursing, also is a mentor, advisor, researcher, clinician and prolific author. Appel teaches across baccalaureate, master’s and doctoral programs and has achieved high teaching-effectiveness ratings from her students. She demonstrates exceptional standards for learning, professionalism, mentoring and service to others. Colleagues and students say Appel is an exceptional educator, kind, facilitative and supportive of the total student while setting high standards. One student says Appel, “displays confidence and a delight of teaching. She strives for each and every student to succeed and is fruitful in implementing a program of study that will guarantee success in and out of the classroom. She helped me appreciate that teaching can be an amazing and rewarding career.” Colleagues say Appel has made tremendous contribution to the scientific community through her numerous written publications, oral presentations and clinical skills, and that she is a premier researcher and role model for the School of Nursing and the profession.
 |
| Kraft |
Timothy W. Kraft
Optometry
Kraft, Ph.D., associate professor of vision sciences, consistently receives exceptional student evaluation scores, especially in the areas of preparation, presentation of course material in an interesting way, clear understanding of the course material and effective use of teaching aids. His course on anatomy of the eye was considered by students to be exceptionally strong in clarity and consistency of objectives, imparting good retention of important concepts and integrating written materials well with lectures. Kraft has been the instructor for the ocular anatomy class for seven years and the course director for retina and subcortical processing in the vision sciences graduate program since 2001. Kraft made substantial improvements to the professional and graduate courses after he was selected to lead them, including revising course content, the development of course Web sites, enhanced PowerPoint-based lectures and a homework program that requires that students write a short paper on clinical correlates related to ocular anatomy. “Tim commands a comprehensive grasp of the subjects that he teaches, and he exhibits both the dedication and innovative approach necessary for an effective teacher,” one colleague says. “He cares deeply about student learning, and they recognize it.”
 |
| Redden |
David T. Redden
Public Health
Redden, Ph.D., associate professor of biostatistics, has three teaching principles — engage the students in their course work and the classroom, challenge the students with problems that build upon but go beyond the examples covered in class and avoid using old lecture notes. He believes this a solid foundation, and his students and colleagues agree. “Dr. Redden is an outstanding mentor who cares about his mentees, is much respected and beloved by them and has a consistent track record helping them advance their careers,” says one colleague. Another colleague lauds Redden’s ability as a teacher. “The depth of his knowledge of categorical data analysis, both its underlying theory and its application to address research questions, is remarkable,” the colleague says. “While he is very knowledgeable, he has the confidence to acknowledge when he is not sure about the answer to a student’s question. Content mastery is critical to the success of a good teacher, but Dr. Redden also is a master communicator. His presentation style is clear, and he actively involves students in his lectures, encouraging them to ask questions, to respond to questions and to think.”
 |
| Copes |
John Heith Copes
Social & Behavioral Sciences
Copes, Ph.D., associate professor of justice sciences, doesn’t use PowerPoint presentations or other technologies in his teaching. He prefers actively engaging in discussion with all of the students in his classroom. In fact, two classroom observers noted that nearly every student in a class of more than 50 participated in the discussion on the day each observed the class. This gives students the freedom to pursue new questions and to think critically with Copes skillfully guiding the discussion. Copes teaches high-interest classes including criminology and patterns in crime, which explore the psychological and social conditions that affect crime. He also teaches the required research methods class, a course students often dread. Still, one student says while the course could have been a struggle, Copes “finds ways to make his students understand the material, which enables students to have a better success rate in the class.” Another student says Copes “achieves a connection with his students and is able to establish trust. We really believe he bears our best interest — our learning — in mind as he teaches. This draws students out into the intellectual and academic open and warmly invites them to express themselves without fear of failure or reprisal.”