Stephen F. Austin State University’s James I. Perkins College of Education recently selected recipients for the college’s Teaching Excellence Awards. From left, Sarah Drake, clinical instructor in the School of Human Sciences; Erica Dillard, lecturer in the Department of Elementary Education; Deborah Cady, clinical instructor in the School of Human Services; Patty Berthot, lecturer in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Science; presenter Dr. Judy A. Abbott, dean of the Perkins College of Education; Dr. Christina Sinclair, associate professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Science and interim associate dean for assessment and accountability within the college; Dr. Paige Mask, associate professor in the Department of Human Services; Dr. Leah Kahn, assistant professor in the Department of Elementary Education; and Dr. Mary Olle, assistant professor in the School of Human Sciences.
Each spring, representatives are selected from academic units within each of SFA’s six colleges to receive Teaching Excellence Awards. Then, each college selects one academic unit faculty member to represent his/her college at the university’s annual Teaching Excellence Convocation.
The Teaching Excellence Award recognizes outstanding tenure-track faculty members who demonstrate extensive knowledge of subject matter, quality lectures and assignments, enthusiasm for teaching, interest in and availability to students, commitment to continuous improvement and contribution to the quality of teaching at SFA by assisting and encouraging other faculty members.
Honorees in the James I. Perkins College of Education include Dr. Leah Kahn, assistant professor in the Department of Elementary Education; Dr. Paige Mask, associate professor in the Department of Human Services; Dr. Mary Olle, assistant professor in the School of Human Sciences; and Dr. Christina Sinclair, associate professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Science and interim associate dean for assessment and accountability within the college. Among the honorees, Sinclair was selected to represent the Perkins College of Education at the university’s Teaching Excellence Convocation, which will be held in April.
“I’m honored to receive this award and accept on behalf of all the incredible teachers, coaches and professors I have known and currently work with here at SFA,” Sinclair said. “At SFA, commitment to students is not the exception; it is the norm.”
The college also recognized Teaching Excellence Award recipients for non-tenure track faculty members. Those honorees include Patty Berthot, lecturer in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Science; Deborah Cady, clinical instructor in the Department of Human Services; Erica Dillard, lecturer in the Department of Elementary Education; and Sarah Drake, clinical instructor in the School of Human Sciences.
