Seven faculty members have been named to the prestigious Academy of Distinguished Teachers at The University of Texas at Austin, Steven W. Leslie, executive vice president and provost, has announced.
The new members are Marilyn P. Armour, associate professor, School of Social Work; Chandra R. Bhat, the Adnan Abou-Ayyash Centennial Professor in Transportation Engineering, Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering; Elizabeth A. Danze, associate professor, School of Architecture; Christopher A. Long, professor, School of Architecture; James Pennebaker, the Liberal Arts Foundation Centennial Professor, Department of Psychology, College of Liberal Arts; Daron R. Shaw, professor, Department of Government, College of Liberal Arts; and Greg Sitz, professor, Department of Physics, College of Natural Sciences.
Leslie said the faculty members were named to the academy based on recommendations from an ad hoc faculty/student committee that reviewed nominations of outstanding faculty members. The faculty members, he said, have earned the respect of peers, students and administrators for their outstanding teaching.
The academy induction ceremony and special dinner in honor of the new members will be in October.
Members of the academy will receive a permanent academic salary increase of $7,000 and will be designated as a Distinguished Teaching Professor. They will work with the Office of the Provost in providing institutional leadership and guidance for the distinctive undergraduate experience available in the research university environment. The academy members also are asked to be teaching mentors for new faculty and to assist with other initiatives to enhance the teaching mission of the university.
Established in February 1995, the Academy of Distinguished Teachers was one of the first associations of its kind in the nation. New members of the academy are selected each year through a rigorous evaluation process. Deans of colleges and schools annually nominate faculty for membership, and a committee that includes members of the academy, students and other faculty review the nominations and recommend a slate of honorees to the provost, who makes the final selections.
