Two from Gillings School honored for teaching excellence
January 29, 2015
Two faculty members at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health were recognized recently for excellence in teaching undergraduate and graduate students at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Susan Ennett, PhD, professor and vice chair for academic affairs in the Gillings School’s health behavior department, and Karl Umble, PhD, clinical assistant professor of health policy and management and adjunct assistant professor of health behavior, were recognized at halftime of the Jan. 24 men’s basketball game against Florida State University.
Ennett was one of four to win the University’s Distinguished Teaching Award for Post-Baccalaureate Instruction. The award was established in 1995 to recognize the vital role of graduate teaching.
Umble was one of five to receive the Tanner Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching. The award, begun in 1952 through a bequest by Kenneth Spencer Tanner, class of 1911, and his siblings, was established to recognize excellence in inspirational teaching of undergraduates, particularly first- and second-year students.
“We are extremely proud of Drs. Ennett and Umble,” said Anna Maria Siega-Riz, PhD, associate dean for academic affairs at the Gillings School. “They are excellent examples of the dedication to student-centered learning which we value so greatly at the School. Our students benefit from these educators’ years of classroom experience, their ability to be innovative by incorporating current public health issues in the curriculum and the opportunities they provide for group work that reflects how public health problems are solved in the real world.”
About two dozen faculty and teaching assistants representing 11 departments and two schools won the 2014 University Teaching Awards, which are the highest campus-wide recognition for teaching excellence. A special insert on all the winners will appear in the April 16 issue of the University Gazette.