Nine faculty members win awards for excellence in teaching

LAWRENCE — Nine faculty members at the University of Kansas have been recognized as winners of annual distinguished teaching awards.

“These educators have earned the respect of their peers and have demonstrated their ability to help our students attain their full potential,” Chancellor Douglas A. Girod said. “These teachers should be proud of their contribution to our university’s work, and I congratulate them on their outstanding accomplishments and commitment to their craft.”

The nine award recipients were honored Aug. 20 at the KU Teaching Summit, held this year in a virtual format.

This year’s winners are as follows:

David Slusky, the De-Min and Chin-Sha Wu Associate Professor of Economics, received the Byron T. Shutz Award. Established in 1978, the award alternates between recognizing excellent teaching in business and economics in even-numbered years and outstanding teaching in any discipline in odd-numbered years.

Michael Bauer, professor of music, received the Ned N. Fleming Trust Award. This award, established in 1990, recognizes outstanding teaching.

David Griffin, lab professor in the Department of Chemical & Petroleum Engineering; Lauri Hermann-Ginsberg, lecturer in the Department of Curriculum & Teaching; and Alee Phillips, lecturer and director of the Master of Accounting Program in the School of Business, were the recipients of this year’s Bob & Kathie Taylor Excellence in Teaching Award, which recognizes nontenure track faculty.

Four faculty members at KU Medical Center received the Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching Awards, selected by a committee of Medical Center faculty and students. The awards recognize a demonstrated teaching ability of a clearly superlative nature.

The recipients of these awards:

• Joanna Brooks, assistant professor, Department of Population Health
• Julie Christianson, associate professor and director of Graduate Studies, Department of Anatomy & Cell Biology
• Qiuhua Shen, assistant professor, School of Nursing
• Stephen Tarver, associate professor and director of Medical Simulation, Department of Anesthesiology

The KU Teaching Summit takes place each August and is co-sponsored by the Center for Teaching Excellence, Office of the Provost and KU Medical Center. The conference is designed for faculty and instructional staff from the Lawrence, Edwards and Medical Center campuses. The 2020 event, with the theme "Teaching in a Transformed World," included keynote sessions as well as a series of podcasts hosted at the KU Teaching Summit website. For access to the Blackboard-only features, contact Judy Eddy at jeddy@ku.edu.