Senate's Excellence in Teaching Award AY 2020-21

On behalf of the Senate Officers, the Faculty Honors and Awards Committee (FHA) ... and ultimately the Senate, my thanks to our seven Teaching Excellence Award nominees and the College Deans/Associate Deans who supported them.

FHA members spent considerable time reviewing submitted materials before making their selection--and this excerpt from Chair Matt Anderson's letter to me illustrates the challenge he and the Committee members faced in choosing a single award recipient.

"The Faculty Honors and Awards Committee received seven nominations for the Senate Excellence in Teaching Award. The Committee met and deliberated on the nominations, and was deeply impressed with the quality of the nominees and the scope of their teaching endeavors. All nominees were truly exceptional with their contributions to discovery and dissemination of knowledge at SDSU. We were only able to recommend one of the nominees for this award but we feel that all nominees were deserving a recognition with their exceptional teaching and teaching innovations."

Ultimately, the Committee recommended (and we all congratulate) Professor Christopher Harrison (College of Sciences). As many of you know, Dr. Chris Harrison, Department of Chemistry,  represents the best of San Diego State University as an outstanding teacher and scholar. His dedication to his students over the course of his 14-year career is clearly demonstrated by his breadth of classroom teaching, his teaching innovations, his instructional design, his international reputation, and his student mentoring.He has introduced or championed several teaching innovations, including: promotion of Supplemental Instruction in chemistry, creation of novel YouTube videos, introduction of the Swivl technology to ITS, flipping his classroom, and teaching to Georgian students. He also serves as the Associate Editor for the Analytical Sciences Digital Library and is considered “one of the foremost experts on the use of technology in the teaching of analytical chemistry.” On top of all that, he has continued to be an outstanding scholar and mentor to over 70 undergraduate and graduate students.

Dr. Harrison clearly demonstrates the outstanding record of teaching that this award merits. His award lecture is on "Using technology to facilitate the transition from lectures to active learning."

Dr. Harrison received a stipend of $10,000, and the title Senate Distinguished Professor.

As always, contact the Senate Office at [email protected] with any questions you might have.

 

                                      Senate's Excellence in Teaching Award AY 2018-19

We all congratulate Professor Audrey Hokoda (College of Education/Department of Child and Family Development). As many of you know, Dr. Hokoda's teaching and research areas are associated with domestic issues, peer relationships and conflict resolution; given her longstanding reputation as a caring and innovative educator, it's no surprise that so many of her students have themselves won prestigous awards and opted to enter the academy.

Dr. Hokoda received a stipend of $10,000, and the title Senate Distinguished Professor.

As always, contact the Senate Office at [email protected] with any questions you might have.