Above and Beyond the Call of Duty
UT’s best teachers chosen by those who know best --- students
For the past 26 years, the Texas Exes have teamed up with students to recognize one teacher and one teaching assistant from every college or school who exemplifies Texas excellence in teaching. The Texas Exes Teaching Award winners are honored at a reception and receive a bonus check of $1,000 ($500 to TAs) for their hard work. This year, the following 15 were chosen from more than 400 nominations and were praised by their students for unique, interactive teaching methods, personable demeanors, and many actions that were clearly above and beyond the scope of their presence in the classroom.
Seven hold degrees from the University, 10 have been teaching for more than a decade, including two who have been at UT for more than 20 years, and one just finished his first semester teaching. Many have interesting pipe dreams of other careers, but they all share a passion for learning and sharing their enthusiasm for their subjects.
Lorenzo Alvisi
Natural Sciences (computer sciences)
My philosophy on teaching is to help my students appreciate the practical value of seeking elegance, not only when reasoning about theoretical problems, but also when building something that may look to some as aesthetically challenged as a computer system. Elegance is a powerful — and perhaps the only — antidote against the growing complexity that ultimately risks making technology unmanageable.
My most significant teaching moment was last summer when I joined forces with my wife, Irene, a lecturer in the Department of French and Italian, to spend six very intense weeks exploring the role of science and technology in our democratic society with 18 wonderfully talented and curious high school juniors from all over the world. Irene and I pretty much pushed sleeping to the weekends to prepare for classes that tried to blend together in an exciting way literature and the philosophy of science, Oxford-style debates and operas, theater and computational complexity theory. A little sleep deprivation, though, was a bargain for a drink at the fountain of youth!
I teach because once I understand something more deeply than I initially had, I enjoy sharing those insights with others.
If I wasn’t a teacher, I would be a basketball player (in my dreams!) or a musician.
“His care and interest motivates you to want to succeed, lest you feel like you have let down a good friend.”
Mitchell N. Berman
Law (criminal & constitutional law)
My philosophy on teaching is to gain a reasonably clear sense of each student’s strengths and weaknesses and then to be dexterous enough to press him or her past her comfort zone but not beyond her capacities. I think of myself as something like a physical therapist or personal trainer. The analogy reminds me of the importance of appreciating each student as an individual.
I am passionate about law because it calls upon lawyers to exercise such varied capacities as those involving reason, empathy, creativity, persuasion, and competition. I am particularly drawn to constitutional law and criminal law because they implicate most forcefully fundamental moral questions regarding the proper relationship between the state and the individual.
I teach for essentially the same reason that an artist is an artist or a scientist is a scientist: the drive to understand things better and to try to help others understand things better, too. Teaching affords me the freedom to think about whatever engages and provokes me, to follow my ideas in whatever direction they lead, and to pursue them as far as I’m able.
If I wasn’t a teacher, I would be practicing constitutional litigation. But friends tell me that my highest and best use might be as an offensive coordinator for a college football team — although probably Division III, I’m afraid.
“I find it incredibly rewarding to reach the conclusions through his highly interactive form of socratic dialogue.”
Randolph G. Bias
Information (usability research methods)
My philosophy on teaching entails helping students learn how to acquire new knowledge and how to think critically, rather than just expressing a collection of facts. It entails a “depth of processing” model, where concepts and skills are addressed in multiple ways, including via real-world projects. And it certainly entails meeting the students where they are – reading the students’ understanding of the material and adjusting my offering accordingly.
I am passionate about usability because I believe deeply that it still hasn’t received the focus it deserves, in the design of all human-computer interfaces including Web sites. All this wondrous technology is of no value if human beings can’t figure out how to use it. And I am passionate about teaching research methods and statistics because I believe an understanding of such topics is important simply for navigating the world.
I teach because I was a usability engineer and usability manager for more than 20 years, working in industry at places like Bell Labs and IBM, and now I’m helping prepare the next generation of usability professionals and “digital professionals” of all ilks.
If I could change one thing about the educational system I would do more to make scholarship at least as cool as athletics.
If I wasn’t a teacher, I would be serving as a widely respected baseball analyst on ESPN.
“I heard a rumor that he came by and offered assistance at an unofficial study group that met on the WEEKEND.”
Constantine Caramanis
Engineering (electrical & computer)
My philosophy on teaching is curriculum should not be something that will be outpaced and made obsolete by advancing technology. This requires teaching fundamentals, and teaching them at a fundamental level. Making a class exciting and challenging by requiring students to think in deep and creative ways (rather than simply grinding out endlessly repetitive problem sets) is a central goal I set.
UT is a great place to teach because of the quality of the students, as well as the quality of my colleagues. The faculty with whom I interact are all passionate about teaching, and we exchange ideas about different approaches, styles, and class content. Support and recognition at the administrative level is also great, because many of us invest so much time and effort into our classes and students.
If I could change one thing about the educational system it would be more support of all kinds available for teaching, and recognition for teaching as a creative challenge and endeavor.
I’m passionate about the subject I teach because my courses have direct ties to industry and are at the same time very close to the cutting edge of research. The broad connections to both applied and theoretical work are what make research in this field so inspiring. In turn, this makes teaching the subject exciting for me, and I hope it will be relevant and important to the students regardless of what career paths they take.
If I wasn’t teaching, I would be regretting my career decision!
“He inspires students not only to learn but to think as well.”
Lynda G. Cleveland
Business (information, risk, & operations management)
My philosophy on teaching is it is a performance. A teacher’s knowledge is her craft, and her presentation should be artistic. I strive each day to instill within my students a curiosity, a desire to learn, and a vitality in themselves.
My most significant moment in teaching comes in answering the haunting questions at the end of the day. Did I only teach my students to calculate the standard deviation or memorize elements of the networked economy or did I challenge them to know who they are? Did I encourage them that they are uniquely created with talents and abilities no one else possesses? Did I encourage them that they have the capacity for anything they dream? Most of my significant teaching moments I’ll never know, but the students do, and that is all that really matters.
I teach because of my grandfather, the original Dr. Cleveland on the UT campus many years ago, C.M. Cleveland. As a young child I often attended his engineering classes because “everyone had fun.” I was too young to understand anything about engineering or teaching philosophies — but even toddlers can recognize “happy times.” Papaw challenged me to teach the student, not the subject.
If I wasn’t teaching, I would be a traumatic brain injury rehab specialist, structural engineer, or cardiovascular surgeon.
“Many of my communications courses discuss the theories of building personal relationships. Lynda just builds the relationships.”
Mark P. Cloos
Geosciences (structural geology & tectonics)
My philosophy on teaching is to focus on the basics but also try to get students thinking about the world at the next level. In other words, how to make their own observations to help them decipher nature’s grand experiment — our planet Earth.
I am passionate about geology because I learn something new about how planet Earth works almost every week. Earth is fascinating and seeing students — and others — get excited when they realize they also understand some of its workings is energizing.
UT is a great place to teach because it has phenomenal resources and the JacksonSchool is the most diverse geoscience research and teaching organization in the world: great colleagues and staff, many energetic graduate and undergraduate students, a world-class library, and a remarkable array of laboratory equipment for research. In addition, our Geology Foundation has endowments that ensure we can routinely take students on field trips.
If I could change one thing about the educational system I would like to see field trips in all science courses.
If I wasn’t teaching, I would be working in petroleum or minerals exploration.
“His vivacity and enthusiasm spreads to his students. He encourages us to be detectives, scientists, and to always be curious.”
Bonnie M. Elliott
Education (curriculum & instruction)
I teach because of all the careers I considered in high school and college, teaching had the strongest pull. Once I was in a first-grade classroom doing my student teaching, I never seriously considered a different path.
My most significant teaching moment is seeing the fruits of all my work reflected in the philosophy and efforts of a novice teacher. Knowing the influences that she will have over hundreds and maybe thousands of future students makes for frequent significant moments and I am convinced there is not a finer professional moment possible. That it gets to happen every other semester is what keeps me teaching.
I am passionate about education because there is no one more important than a good teacher and my job working with pre-service teachers allows me to support their growth across three semesters, from beginning to graduation. I get to write those letters of reference. I get letters and notes months or years later telling me of successes they are having with their students. There is nothing finer.
If I could change one thing about the educational system I believe we must find a way to eliminate high-stakes testing before our curriculum is so test-driven that thoughtful and caring teachers can’t practice anymore.
If I wasn’t teaching, I would be in early retirement, traveling, and most likely figuring out a way to get back into schools through consulting, volunteering, and mentoring.
“She doesn’t give us the answers. We find the answers deep within us. We discover, with her help, what is deep in our hearts.”
Walter L. Fast
Pharmacy (medicinal chemistry)
My philosophy on teaching is to equip the students with an intellectual framework or roadmap with which they can understand how current drugs work and can incorporate new developments as they emerge. Fortunately, learning is never finished — that’s one reason I like this job so much.
My most significant moment in teaching was facing a classroom of 120+ students for the first time. It was more than a little daunting, especially for an introvert. But now I enjoy it!
UT is a great place to teach because of the defining and inspirational characteristics I’ve found in the professional students of UT’s College of Pharmacy, like their heart for service and their community-outreach programs. Add to this the intellectual curiosity and drive of UT’s graduate students, and it’s a combination difficult to beat.
A big influence in my life is Albert Schweitzer. I’ve always been fascinated by him. C.P. Snow talked about the almost impassable gulf between the “Two Cultures” (humanities and the sciences), but Schweitzer was someone who not only fully lived in both worlds but used theology as the unifying thread of his life.
If I wasn’t teaching, I would be probably raising basset hounds. Or working in big pharma. One is more lucrative, but I’d miss all of the drool.
“He brought in 3D glasses so that we could appreciate the shape of a molecule. Not only is it interactive, but it’s fun.”
Mark K. Goodman
Art (photography)
My philosophy on teaching is you can only learn to photograph by photographing (and teaching by teaching, which is another way of saying learning). Looking and thinking, then looking again. In 2005, I became the graduate advisor for the studio art program, working each year with around 30 students across all disciplines as their sometimes mentor, protector, and director (with a working philosophy of at least doing no harm). It was a new challenge for me to work so closely with so many older students who’d made such a big commitment of money, time (three years), and personal identity (being an artist, not only making art) while trying to master a discipline they love even in the face of an uncertain future and lingering self doubts. If teaching photography focused on the art of looking, being graduate advisor became about intently listening and then attempting to make incremental, but hopefully beneficial, changes in the graduate experience. Listening and thinking, then listening again.
I’m passionate about photography because it is always surprising for me to see what others photograph when everything that reflects light is a possibility. What they recognize as being a picture is often, at first, a picture of a previously seen picture. Later, it is more interesting and delightful when they slowly discover through experience the things that are for them truly worth looking at more than once — closely, thoughtfully, with feeling, and maybe even passion, too.
“He seems to believe that change is not necessarily improvement. His philosophy seems to be enhancing what is already there.”
Corinne E. Grimes
Nursing (clinical, adult health)
My philosophy on teaching is I envision teaching as akin to coaching. A teacher should motivate and inspire. While making plans to achieve desired outcomes within the course, a teacher sets up the environment and the steps needed to enable success and provides individual students with frequent feedback on progress.
My most significant teaching moment was working in a Bangkok orphanage where people would watch me out of the corner of their eyes as I cleaned, opened windows to some lovely tropical breezes, cuddled the babies (many of whom were suffering from a bizarre form of institutionalization), and performed other duties. One day, I was delighted to see that a hideous skin infection in a child had cleared. The previously lethargic infant was laughing, alert, and making eye contact with us. My techniques had done the trick. From that point on, the care staff began to exactly copy what I did. It was a moment when I began to suspect, with all the confidence that youth provides, that I could teach anyone anything, anytime, and anywhere. Life would later correct this early impression.
I teach because I can’t recall a time when I was not a teacher. Beginning in my student days in fifth grade in Massachusetts until the time I attained a driver’s license in high school, there was always a group of fellow students gathered at the back of the school bus asking help with mastery of math or for my services as proofreader for their papers. I vowed then that I didn’t want to be a teacher on a regular basis! But, what do kids know?
“Her cheerful, upbeat attitude always brightens up my stressful experience during nursing clinicals at the hospital.”
Shirley M. Haulotte
Social Work (spirituality, social work practice, and gerontology)
UT is a great place to teach because of the freedom to personalize teaching to the strengths of the professor. I was supported in designing a course called “Spiritualist and Social Work Practice.”
My most significant teaching moment was accompanying my students on a two-day trip to a small, family-owned farm in rural West Texas. There the students learned about the rigors and rewards of rural life in addition to learning about both formal and informal resources in small communities. They had an opportunity to live on the farm, engage in some of the activities (e.g. pruning pecan trees, preparing a vegetable garden), and listen to various individuals in the community.
I am passionate about social work because for me, it is a philosophy of life as well as a profession. I tell students that once they become social workers they can never be the same person because they will see the world with different eyes. They will see the world through the eyes of oppressed, disenfranchised, and marginalized individuals and the injustices and inequalities will form their worldview.
If I could change one thing about the educational system it would be creating smaller class sizes. From public schools to universities, smaller class size would enable more individualized teaching and learning and fewer cookie-cutter assignments.
If I wasn’t teaching, I would return to social work practice or I would be an interfaith chaplain.
“She helped us discover about ourselves and learn about different cultures. Her class was inspiring and life changing.”
Christopher A. Long
Architecture (architectural history)
My philosophy on teaching is to approach each lecture and seminar with the belief that I can transport students to a place of learning — a place that is exciting, new, and challenging. My best tool as a teacher is my own enthusiasm for learning new things.
I’m passionate about history because the study of our past — whether it is about our buildings, our cities, or the larger forces in society — tells us about who we are, who we have been, and what we might be. In every class I teach, I try to convey that message.
I teach because as teachers, we not only have the ability to transform individual lives but also to make the world better. In knowledge there is power and freedom.
If I wasn’t teaching, I would write all day. I love to write about architecture and design. But I am privileged and honored (and just plain lucky!) to get to do both.
UT is great to teach at because of a very long history of providing excellent training to our students. When I started teaching in the School of Architecture, I was terribly impressed by the passion and excellence of many of our older professors. I remember in particular Professor Lance Tatum, now retired. He was a master. I was so impressed with his dedication to the teaching art, to his commitment to serving the needs of our students. I thought: someday I want to teach as well as he does!
“He is a model for me. When writing a paper or preparing a talk. I spend a lot of time thinking, ‘How would Chris do this?’”
Cynthia Osborne
Public Affairs (social policy, family demography, & empirical methods)
I teach because engaging and preparing my students to be stronger advocates and better public servants brings me a tremendous sense of purpose and joy. I learn from my students’ experiences and benefit from seeing the world from their perspectives, as much or more than they learn from me.
I’m passionate about my subject because there have been considerable demographic changes in the family over the past 40 years. These changes are fueling this country’s growing inequality. Our policies to support families have not kept pace with the changing needs, and in many instances, our social policies exacerbate these trends. We can do better.
A big influence in my life was my 5th and 6th grade teacher, Eric Andrew, a young, energetic teacher who made learning come to life. He was also the first African American that I had any real interaction with. I came to understand a whole new world, literally. When I taught 6th graders in a low-income community, his influence gave me confidence that I could find common ground. Lourdes Arguelles, a professor I had while pursuing my masters in education, taught me the important difference between advocating for a position I believe in strongly and arming myself with evidence, tools, and knowledge to actually affect change. I have come to understand that I cannot “save the world” but I can change it.
“She went above and beyond in the ‘classroom experience’ by mentoring each student to help us reach our career goals.”
Benjamin J. Steinbauer
Communication (radio-television-film)
My philosophy on teaching is I don’t want to teach the students what I know, but rather stimulate them to draw from their own lives and teach me what it is that they know.
I am passionate about film because I think that telling stories is how we make sense of the world, learn about human nature, and ultimately learn to improve ourselves.
I teach because I want to improve my own environment. My students will go on to be the next generation of storytellers and filmmakers. I want those stories to be good, for my own sake. Also my dad and granddad are both professors (and still teaching!). It has turned into something of a family business.
If I could change one thing about the educational system it would be for teachers to make more money. They are reimbursed for their efforts much less than other professions. If teachers were paid more, then teaching would become a priority and not a sacrifice.
If I wasn’t teaching, I would be making more movies.
“It’s only Ben’s first year teaching, but he has gone above and beyond. Ben is the type of professor students wish they had. ”
Sean M. Theriault
Liberal Arts (U.S. politics, Congress)
My philosophy on teaching is in a word, discovery. Everything I do in the classroom is geared toward the students discovering things about themselves and the world in which they live.
I teach because nothing is more satisfying to me than working with students and helping them make discoveries.
My most significant teaching moment was receiving a present from a former student, who upon graduation enlisted in the Army. He sent me a framed ballot from the first Iraqi provisional election. He also included an engraving that read: “To Professor Sean Theriault: Thank you for teaching us that the power of the people is alive and well, and for inspiring us to be better people because of it.”
I am passionate about my subject because Congress is misunderstood and maligned. I aim to make my students respect the institution even if they don’t always like the decisions that it makes.
If I could change one thing about the educational system I would create more funding so that more of my classes could have fewer than 50 students.
If I wasn’t teaching, I would be playing tennis on the senior tour.
“He generously dedicates himself to bettering not only the lives of students, but also the culture of our campus community.”
