Fall 2007 Recipient

Department of Spanish & Portuguese

CTE advisory board members who chose Spanish and Portuguese noted that the department has demonstrated a deep commitment to learning, from undergraduate students completing a foreign language requirement through doctoral students who are preparing to be professors. Faculty members in the department have established clear goals for student learning and a system for reflecting on those goals. Board members noted the department's use of student portfolios to evaluate learning. The department's impact on the Lawrence community through service learning was also recognized.

Department Portfolio

Chancellor Hemenway joins the Department of Spanish & Portuguese at the 2007 Department Excellence in Teaching Award presentation.

Fall 2006 Recipient

Department of Mechanical Engineering

At the 2006 KU Summit, the Department of Mechanical Engineering will be honored with the CTE Departmental Award for Excellence in Teaching and Learning.

CTE advisory board members who chose mechanical engineering noted the exemplary way that the department uses multiple, converging measures of learning. These include a capstone course for seniors, a senior project that is reviewed by faculty members, and connections with the engineering community for feedback on the performance of mechanical engineering graduates in the field. Based on what their measures indicated about strengths and weaknesses in students’ understanding, the department modified courses to improve student performance and demonstrated that improvement. Two other notable activities are its development of writing across the curriculum and economics across the curriculum.

Department Portfolio

Chancellor Hemenway surprises Mechanical Engineering faculty members with news of their receipt of the 2006 DAETL.

Fall 2005 Recipient

Department of Communication Studies

At the 2005 KU Summit, the Department of Communication Studies was honored with the CTE Department Excellence in Teaching Award.

The portfolio submitted by Communication Studies demonstrated exemplary collaboration, reflection, and innovation. In the last two years, they have undertaken four initiatives: faculty retreats on teaching and learning for undergraduate and graduate students, supplementing internal program reviews with external assessment of department teaching, revising their extensive GTA preparation program, and supporting student organizations and undergraduate programs. These initiatives have resulted in a range of outcomes, including a new comprehensive introductory course, two seminars to enhance professional writing by graduate students, and curriculum reviews at bi-monthly faculty meetings. Their collaboration has resulted in a systematic plan to build community around the intellectual work in teaching.

Department Portfolio

Chancellor Hemenway presents the 2005 Department Excellence in Teaching Award to the Department of Communication Studies

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Fall 2004 Recipient

The Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering was honored with the CTE Department Excellence in Teaching Award at the 2004 KU Summit. Other finalist departments were geology, Germanic languages and literatures, and Spanish and Portuguese.

The portfolio submitted by Chemical and Petroleum Engineering demonstrated exemplary cooperation, reflection, and innovations, particularly in the following areas: breadth and depth of collaboration in examining student performance and faculty teaching practices; extensive mentoring program for new faculty; shared focus on clear program objectives centered on student learning and understanding; and clear commitment to continuous program improvement, including self-reflection, student input, and periodic reviews of the impact of changes in teaching.

Department Portfolio

Fall 2003 Recipient

The Department of English was honored with the CTE Department Excellence in Teaching Award at the 2003 KU Summit. Other finalist departments were chemistry, ecology and evoluationary biology, and psychology.

In the portfolio they submitted for the award, the English department demonstrated exemplary cooperation, reflection, and innovations, particularly in these areas: A comprehensive GTA preparation program, begun in the late 1950's and updated regularly. New faculty mentoring program. Department workshops and informal discussion groups that meet to talk about teaching. Curriculum innovation with the addition of a number of courses in non-traditional literature. Community outreach programs that include conferences, classes for inmates at the Douglas County Jail, and the addition of service-learning to several courses.

Department Portfolio

Chancellor Hemenway presents the 2003 Department Teaching Award to Dorice Williams Elliott, chair of the Department of English, and Jim Hartman, past chair.

Fall 2002 Recipients

To inaugurate the Department Excellence in Teaching program in Fall 2002, two awards were given—one to a small department and one to a large department. The Department of Classics was identified as the outstanding small department and received $8,000 for its program. The School of Journalism was recognized as the outstanding large department and received $12,000 to continue its development of teaching and learning.

In their application for the award, classics demonstrated that they value and expect high-end performance by students in their classes. Their faculty members engage students in complex cognitive tasks, even in large classes. They have made innovative uses of technology in their teaching. The quality of work their students completed has been recognized outside of class and, in some cases, outside the University. Overall, they showed that as a department they work together to keep student learning at the center of their activities.

From fall 1997 to fall 2000, journalism faculty worked together to change their curriculum from a traditional one to one that prepares students for a world of converged media of print, broadcast and the Web. As a School, they recognize the importance of teaching; it is a key part of their department’s mission and a critical factor in hiring decisions. In their application they demonstrated that they, like classics, value and expect high-end student performance in classes of all sizes.

Journalism Portfolio
Classics Portfolio

Pam Gordon, chair of the Department of Classics, and James Gentry, Dean of the School of Journalism, received the 2002 Department Teaching Awards on behalf of their programs.