帝王会所

Four faculty members have received the University Professor (UP) award for the 50th annual distribution. The University Professor award recognizes outstanding teaching at 帝王会所. Since its founding in 1970, the UP program has recognized over 260 professors for their teaching excellence.

Each honored faculty receives a monetary stipend and the opportunity to teach a course of their choosing as a means of enriching the undergraduate curriculum.

鈥淚 cannot think of another thing that personifies the best of teaching and learning at OHIO than our University Professor award program,鈥� said Tim Vickers, director of the Center for Teaching & Learning. 鈥淲inners鈥� names are engraved on bronze plaques found outside University College in Chubb Hall, where almost 270 OHIO University Professors are forever remembered鈥攁n area I like to call the OHIO 鈥楾eaching Hall of Fame.鈥欌��

Each fall semester, a pool of recipients is chosen from nominations collected from the OHIO student body. A selection committee composed of 10鈥�14 undergraduate students then holds intensive interviews with eight faculty finalists and observes each of them in class.

鈥淓very year, I have consistently seen comments that stand out in the ballots that the undergraduate students submit in their nominations鈥攁djectives like 鈥榠nspirational,鈥� 鈥榢nowledgeable,鈥� 鈥榗hallenging,鈥� 鈥榓mazing,鈥� 鈥榗aring鈥� and 鈥榩assionate,鈥欌�� said Vickers. 鈥淚t is invariably passion鈥攖he love of the subject, of teaching and caring for their students鈥攖hat really distinguishes these nominees and winners. They all have an amazing ability to bring out the best of those who work with them.鈥�

The 2020鈥�2021 University Professor recipients are:

DeLysa Burnier, Political Science
Burnier鈥檚 proposed course, 鈥淔lyover Country vs. Bi-Coastal Elites: The Rural/Urban Divide in United States Political Thought and Culture,鈥� will explore how the rural/urban divide goes back to the country鈥檚 founding, becoming especially significant in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries when the United States moved from a rural agrarian to an urban industrial nation. After looking at the historical roots of rural/urban divide, the course will move to the contemporary moment, examining how this tension is playing out through the rise of populism, anti-immigration policy, denouncing expertise, climate change denial and the opioid crisis, among other issues.

鈥淏eing nominated for this award made me very happy because it is a gift from my students,鈥� said Burnier. 鈥淕ood teaching is a collaborative project and I deeply appreciate the students who take my classes and share the classroom with me. I look forward to working through the rural/urban political divide with them. I also want to thank very much the students who served on the University Professor committee and Tim Vickers, who runs the process so effectively.鈥�

Brian David Evans, Theater
Evans鈥檚 proposed course is titled 鈥淒elivering a Speech Like an Actor.鈥� This course will cover the use of voice as an 鈥渋nstrument,鈥� the circumstantial audience/speaker relationship, rhetoric as a means of achieving a goal and the use of different 鈥渢actics鈥� to communicate ideas effectively. Taught from the actor鈥檚 perspective, the course will include exercises that focus on how the body supports the voice and the personal connection each person in the class has to their material.

鈥淚 am incredibly honored to receive this award because it is from the students,鈥� said Evans. 鈥淭he students are why I love my job. Their energy, drive and passion for the arts inspire me every day.鈥�

William Albert Young II, Analytics and Information Systems
Young鈥檚 proposed course, 鈥淎nalytics 4 Anyone,鈥� will cover topics ranging from descriptive analytics, predictive analytics and prescriptive analytics. Students will develop capabilities in analytics that are heavily sought after by organizations today, better preparing them for the workplace. 

鈥淚t was an incredible honor to have been nominated for the University Professor award by my students,鈥� said Young. 鈥淏eing recognized with this award is very meaningful to me, given 帝王会所鈥檚 rich history of teaching excellence. I would like to thank everyone that has supported me throughout my academic and professional journey. I am very excited that I have an opportunity to share my passion for analytics with Bobcats.鈥�

Linda Joan Zionkowski, English
Zionkowski鈥檚 proposed course title is 鈥淔ictions of War,鈥� and will focus on novels and memoirs that represent the experience of warfare from the period after World War I up to the present conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Students will examine major works of fiction and life-writing that portray individuals鈥� attempts to confront and reckon with the chaos, loss, pain and absurdity they endured through the warfare.

鈥淚 am deeply honored and delighted to have been chosen for the University Professor Award,鈥� said Zionkowski. 鈥淯ndergraduates bring a sense of excitement and discovery to their literature classes, and I look forward to exploring challenging new material with students in 鈥楩ictions of War.鈥欌��

To read about past winners, visit the Center for Teaching & Learning鈥檚 teaching awards web page. The awards ceremony was made possible by the Center for Teaching & Learning in the Office of Instructional Innovation, with generous support from University College. 

The Office of Instructional Innovation (OII) serves as a catalyst to spark bold experimentation and sustainable discovery of innovative instructional models that fulfill the University鈥檚 promise of a transformative educational experience. OII provides a variety of services to faculty, staff, and students in support of academic units and online programs, as well as to advance initiatives to further the institution鈥檚 mission. Visit www.ohio.edu/instructional-innovation for more information.