Regents honor six UTSW faculty members with Outstanding Teaching Awards

By Lin Lofley

Regents Teaching Award medalion

Six faculty members from UT Southwestern Medical Center will be honored by the UT System Board of Regents on Aug. 19 with 2015 Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Awards, which recognize educators in the University of Texas System for mentoring and personal commitment to students and the learning process.

The 2015 honorees from UT Southwestern are:

  • Dr. Joseph Albanesi, Professor of Pharmacology;
  • Dr. Benjamin Greenberg, Associate Professor of Neurology and Neurotherapeutics, and of Pediatrics;
  • Kimberly Hoggatt Krumwiede, Associate Professor of Health Care Sciences, and Associate Dean of the UT Southwestern School of Health Professions;
  • David Klocko, Associate Professor of Physician Assistant Studies;
  • Dr. John Phelan, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Cell Biology; and
  • Dr. Clifford Wai, Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

“We are fortunate to have these outstanding educators as members of our faculty,” said Dr. Daniel K. Podolsky, President of UT Southwestern. “The institution and the students we teach benefit enormously from their dedication and skill. I’m delighted that they have been recognized for their commitment to educating the next generation of caregivers and scientists. UT Southwestern has a long history of excellence in education, and we are very proud that 35 members of our faculty have been recipients of these awards in the four years since the program was expanded to include UT’s health-related institutions.”

The program, established by the Board of Regents in 2008, is designed to recognize and honor those who deliver the highest quality of instruction in the classroom, the laboratory, the clinics, or online. The program was first limited to faculty members at general academic institutions in the UT System, but was expanded in 2012 to include the six health institutions.

In all, 79 faculty members from across the UT System’s 15 academic and health institutions were honored at this year’s ceremony, with each awardee receiving unrestricted funds of $25,000. The Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Awards are the top teaching prizes in the UT System, and are believed to be among the single largest financial teaching awards program in the country.

“These amazing educators are responsible for helping to prepare great leaders of the future,” said Paul Foster, Chairman of the UT Board of Regents. “With a total award of more than $1.9 million this year, no other university system in the nation is making this kind of an investment in rewarding outstanding faculty. The efforts of these faculty members significantly enhance the educational experiences of our students, and the UT Board of Regents is pleased to have this opportunity to honor them.”

Candidates for the award are evaluated on teaching performance, classroom expertise, curricula quality, innovative course development, and student learning outcomes.

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Dr. Greenberg is a Cain Denius Scholar in Mobility Disorders.

Dr. Podolsky holds the Philip O’Bryan Montgomery, Jr., M.D. Distinguished Presidential Chair in Academic Administration, and the Doris and Bryan Wildenthal Distinguished Chair in Medical Science.