Eight faculty members win Teaching Innovation Awards
April 22, 2018
Students at UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health voted earlier this month to select the School’s most innovative classroom teachers. The winners were announced April 18 at the seventh annual Teaching Innovation Awards ceremony.
On April 18, awards for innovative teaching were presented (l-r) to Dr. Meghan Shanahan, Amanda Holliday, Kathy Roggenkamp, Dr. Carolyn Crump, Dr. Justin Trogdon and Dr. Vaughn Upshaw. Not pictured are Dr. Whitney Robinson and Dr. Jason Surratt.
The 2018 ‘Celebrate Teaching!’ awardees are Carolyn Crump, PhD, associate professor of health behavior; Amanda Holliday, MS, assistant professor of nutrition and director of the department’s Practice Advancement and Continuing Education (PACE) division; Whitney Robinson, PhD, assistant professor of epidemiology, faculty fellow at Carolina Population Center, co-leader of the UNC Social Epidemiology Program and member of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center; Kathy Roggenkamp, MA, instructor of biostatistics; Meghan Shanahan, PhD, assistant professor of maternal and child health and research scientist at the UNC Injury Prevention Research Center; Jason Surratt, PhD, associate professor of environmental sciences and engineering and co-director of undergraduate studies in the department; Justin Trogdon, PhD, associate professor of health policy and management; and Vaughn Upshaw, DrPH, EdD, professor in the Public Health Leadership Program.
Dr. Whitney Robinson
Dr. Jason Surratt
First presented in February 2012, the Teaching Innovation Awards honor faculty members who students feel “improve the learning environment at the Gillings School by integrating new technologies, engaging students in interactive activities, employing creative assessment methods, and introducing and incorporating progressive curriculum ideas into the classroom.”
A $1,000 prize is intended to help the teachers’ educational development in teaching and learning.
The teaching innovation initiative developed out of the Gillings School’s SPH2020 efforts and through a teaching and learning task force held at the School in 2011. The task force recommended identification, encouragement and reward of high-quality teaching; enhanced technology and applications for teaching and learning; and identification and support of faculty members who are early adopters of curriculum innovation.
Laura Linnan, ScD, professor of health behavior and senior associate dean for academic and student affairs at the Gillings School, presented the awards. As Linnan announced each recipient, she read glowing comments from their student nomination forms.
“It is inspiring to read the many student nominations for these prestigious awards,” Linnan said. “We are grateful that so many students took the time to nominate deserving faculty members for these teaching awards. Faculty members who win these awards are doing innovative work in the classroom, are taking time to invest in student learning and mentoring their students both in and outside the classroom. These faculty members represent the best teaching/mentoring at the Gillings School, and we congratulate each of them on being a recipient of a 2018 Gillings Innovations in Teaching Award.”
Gillings School of Global Public Health contact: David Pesci, director of communications, (919) 962-2600 or dpesci@unc.edu
