Richard S. Howe Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award
Purpose of Award
In recognition of former UTSA College of Engineering professor and mentor Richard “Dick” Howe and with support from community leader and philanthropist Edith McAllister, this award recognizes UTSA tenured, tenure-track and fixed-term-track professors for developing signature learning experiences for undergraduates.
Signature undergraduate experiences include creative applied or experiential learning beyond the traditional classroom environment. Examples include, but are not limited to, extending understanding of the discipline by
- Leading students in a study abroad experience,
- Designing and overseeing community-based or service-learning experiences,
- Actively mentoring undergraduates in research
Specific examples of previous recipients’ undergraduate signature learning experiences include:
College of Business: The award recipient supervised a yearlong experience including a two-semester sequence on wealth and asset building in low-income communities followed by a paid summer internship in community economic development. In addition to the course content on asset building, the courses included service projects on financial literacy with middle and high school students, which were supported by grants from the JP Morgan Chase Foundation.
College of Liberal & Fine Arts: The award recipient took classroom learning to the community. In a course on the Holocaust, students organized community lectures on anti-Semitism as well as raised funds for a UTSA scholarship for the study of human rights. For a course on food politics, students worked in the community cooking and delivering meals through Meals on Wheels. Students engaged in discussions of fair housing while assisting with home building through Habitat for Humanity.
College of Sciences: The award recipient mentored undergraduate students for a sustained period in a research laboratory so they could complete thesis research. Student were also mentored and provided opportunities to present their results at national and international scientific conferences.
Eligibility
Nominees must be full-time faculty members with at least three years at UTSA and may be either tenured/tenure-track or fixed-term-track faculty. Recipients of the Howe Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award are eligible for re-nomination after a five-year period.
Timeline 2022-2023
January 28, 2023: Deadline for deans' offices to upload nominations to SharePoint (college faculty award points of contact will receive a link)
February 2023: Award selection committees review nominations and determine recipients
April 2023: Award recipients are formally recognized at the University Excellence Awards Ceremony
Criteria
The selection committee will consider the following criteria in selecting winners:
- Evidence of leadership of a signature undergraduate experience that include creative, applied, and/or experiential learning beyond the traditional classroom environment
- Degree to which the instructor has demonstrated innovation and rigor in design of the experience for undergraduates
- Evidence that students responded in positive ways to the nominee’s instruction
Nomination Materials
A selection committee composed of faculty will review nomination packets. The nomination packet for this award will consist of only the following, assembled into a single PDF file in the order indicated:
- Completed award nomination form
- Nomination letter from peer faculty colleague, department chair, or college leader
- Self-statement of teaching philosophy (2-page max)
- Course evaluations (2 courses max)
- Nomination letters from students (2 max)
- Recent course syllabi (2 courses max)
- CV of nominee
Optional:
- Peer observations of teaching (2 max)
No additional materials should be submitted.
Each dean’s office should upload completed nomination packets by the deadline.
Each college may submit a maximum number of nominees (based on the size of the college) for the award.
| College | Maximum Number of Nominees |
|---|---|
| CEID | 3 |
| ACOB | 3 |
| COEHD | 3 |
| COLFA | 3 |
| COS | 4 |
| HCaP | 4 |
| University College | 1 |
| Honors College | 1 |
Past Recipients
2022
M. Kathryn Brown, Lutcher Brown Endowed Professor, Department of Anthropology
2021
Jennifer Beavers, associate professor, Department of Music
2020
Gina Amatangelo, lecturer II, Department of Public Administration
Sue Ann Pemberton-Haugh, assistant professor in practice, Department of Architecture
2019
Jill Fleuriet, associate professor, Department of Anthropology
John Drew Stephen, associate professor, Department of Music
2018
Teja Guda, assistant professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering
Matthias Hofferberth, associate professor, Department of Political Science & Geography
2017
Matthew W. McCarter, associate professor, Department of Management
Shelley E. Roff, associate professor, Department of Architecture
2016
Bridget Drinka, professor, Department of English
Jamie Newsome, assistant professor, Department of Criminal Justice
2015
James Johnson, senior lecturer, Mechanical Engineering
2014
Kolleen Guy, associate professor, Department of History
Jason Yaeger, professor, Department of Anthropology
2013
Donovan Fogt, associate professor, Department of Health and Kinesiology
Anita Leffel, senior lecturer, Department of Entrepreneurship and Technology Management
Ronald Sweet, lecturer II, Department of Finance
2011
Lucila Ek, associate professor, Department of Bicultural-Bilingual Studies
Mary McNaughton-Cassill, associate professor, Department of Psychology
Richard Jones, professor, Department of Political Science and Geography
Robert Lengel, associate professor, Department of Management
2010
Cory Hallam, senior lecturer, Department of Information Systems
Lisa Montoya, senior lecturer, Department of Economics
Valerie Sponsel, associate professor, Department of Biology
