Nandini Kannan and Melvin Laracey
Distinguished Achievement Awards: Teaching Excellence
(April 28, 2003)--Nandini Kannan, associate professor in the Department
of Management Science and Statistics in the College of Business, and Melvin
Laracey, assistant professor in the Department of Political Science and
Geography, are the winners of the 2003 President's Distinguished Achievement
Award for Teaching Excellence.
Nandini Kannan has taught a broad range of courses in statistics at
the graduate and undergraduate levels and established an impressive record
of excellence in the classroom. Her effective style of communication demonstrates
an impressive command of the subject matter and she possesses the rare ability
to simplify difficult concepts to the benefit of her students.
A member of the faculty since 1992, Kannan uses appropriate statistical software
to give her students a hands-on experience for data analysis. Kannan's students
gain valuable experience by making comprehensive report presentations in front
of the classroom which will later help them as they enter the job market.
In addition to her teaching role, she has also taken an active role in curriculum
development, most notably the development of the bachelor's in business administration
in actuarial science. She is constantly involved in upgrading the undergraduate
and graduate curricula including a new statistical course, Introduction to
Statistical Reasoning, which is available for beginning liberal arts majors.
Kannan also serves as the department representative to the College Undergraduate
Catalog Committee and has coordinated catalog changes in statistics and management
sciences.
Not only an educator, Kannan is involved in student-related matters including
serving as a graduate adviser of record and as an organizer of graduate student
orientations. Last spring she organized a career day in statistics in which
more than 150 area high school students, local community college representatives
and business community members learned about using statistics in the work
place.
"It is truly an honor to receive an award for something I believe in
and derive so much pleasure from," said Kannan. "I believe teaching
is one small way we affect change in the lives of others, and I am grateful
for that opportunity."
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Although he's only been at UTSA since 2000, Melvin Laracey, assistant professor in the Department of Political Science and Geography, has already distinguished himself as an effective and engaging teacher in a variety of classroom situations.
Whether he's teaching in an auditorium or a seminar room, freshmen or honors students, Laracey earns high marks on teacher evaluations.
Laracey, who practiced law for 20 years before turning to academia, was called on to play a critical role in launching the Institute of Law and Public Affairs' summer prelaw academy in 2002. His course on tort law was both rigorous and confidence-building for UTSA's aspiring law students, several of whom now have acceptance letters in hand. He will reprise his role as law professor in this summer's academy.
Laracey came late to college teaching having spent most of his career in government service. He served as both city attorney and city treasurer in Ann Arbor, Mich., and practiced law with a private firm that represented small communities needing legal work.
"Teaching doesn't seem like work to me. When I'm in the classroom, it seems more like a pleasure," Laracey said.
He earned his Ph.D. in political science from the University of Michigan in 1997. His dissertation, "Constitutionally Speaking: The Evolution of Going Public" was nominated for the 1998 best dissertation on the presidency by the George Bush School of Government and Public Policy, Texas A&M University.
Laracey attended the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University where he earned an M.P.A. in 1993. In 1990-91, he taught courses in American government, law and business as a Fulbright Scholar in Romania.
He is married to Marian Aitches, lecturer in the Department of History, and his "best model" in the classroom.
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© The University of Texas at San Antonio, 2003