Stephen F. Austin State University’s James I. Perkins College of Education recently selected recipients for the college’s Teaching Excellence Awards. Pictured from left to right, Leisha Bridwell, merchandising and interior design program coordinator and associate professor, and Dr. Lynda Martin, director, School of Human Sciences; Dr. Karen Embry Jenlink, professor, and Dr. Jeanie Gresham, interim chair, Department of Secondary Education and Educational Leadership; Dr. Judy Abbott, dean of the James I. Perkins College of Education; Dr. Mark Montgomery, assistant professor, and Dr. Liz Vaughan, chair, Department of Elementary Education; Dr. Robyn Whitehead, visiting assistant professor, Dr. Jay Thornton, chair, and Heather Samuelson, dance program co-coordinator and assistant professor, Department of Kinesiology and Health Science. Not pictured is Dr. Luis Aguerrevere, associate professor, and Dr. Robbie Steward, chair, in the Department of Human Services.
Annually, 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 Awards recognize outstanding full-time faculty members who demonstrate extensive knowledge of subject matter, quality lectures and assignments, enthusiasm for teaching, and 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 also are considered.
Honorees in the James I. Perkins College of Education include Dr. Mark Montgomery, assistant professor in the Department of Elementary Education; Heather Samuelson, dance program co-coordinator and assistant professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Science; Dr. Karen Embry Jenlink, professor in the Department of Secondary Education and Educational Leadership; Dr. Luis Aguerrevere, associate professor in the Department of Human Services; and Leisha Bridwell, merchandising and interior design program coordinator and associate professor in the School of Human Sciences. Among the honorees, Montgomery was selected to represent the Perkins College of Education at the university’s Teaching Excellence Convocation, which will be held in April.
“Being at this university and seeing so much great teaching, and faculty and administration support, makes me want to be better,” Montgomery said. “I don’t know that there is any other career in the world that has as much power as teaching, and my hope is that I use that power for good.”
The college also recognized Dr. Robyn Whitehead, visiting assistant professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Science, as the Faculty Senate Teaching Excellence honoree for nontenure-track faculty members.
By Kasi Dickerson, senior marketing communications specialist at Stephen F. Austin State University.
