Who was caught in the act of great teaching? These folks.

The Office of Faculty Development and Teaching Excellence awards the Caught in the Act of Great Teaching Award each semester to honor faculty for excellence in teaching acts that inspire students and exemplify teaching excellence.

The winners of this award for Spring 2018 are:

Dr. Shilpa Brown (Medical College of Georgia)

“Dr. Brown is the course director for Physical Diagnosis, and she has been nothing short of extraordinary the past two years. Dr. Brown always gives practice exercises before seeing a patient and makes students feel comfortable and confident. She has spent so much time creating resources for students and takes so much time out of her clinic to help students. Her passion for her patients and students is evident in all she does, and we are so lucky to have her.”

Tara Najim (Pamplin College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences)

“The other students in the class were understanding the Arabic, but I didn’t quite grasp the full understanding and I became frustrated and started to cry (I was hoping unnoticed). So I was leaving class and she asked me if I was okay and she took me to her office and helped me understand what I couldn’t. She told me it was okay and she knows that I can do it and gave me the best encouragement ever. And this was only the 2nd day of class this semester. She went out of her way to help me and make sure things were okay.”

Dr. Andy Hauger (College of Science and Mathematics)

“Last week I lost a friend and was upset and Dr. Hauger went out of his way to give me a “bag of happiness” and make me laugh and feel better. He is awesome. Dr. Hauger always goes the extra mile for ALL students, not just his own. He would stay after class or help students in other professor’s classes who were having trouble understanding the material or the procedure in lab and explain it in another way that helped them move on in the material and grasp a better understanding.”

Dr. Solon Kao (Dental College of Georgia)

“It’s not simply one act that he was caught in, but many. Observed by not only myself but by my classmates too. Whether it’s down in the clinic or in class, he is consistently there to help guide and teach in the most hands-on manner. For me, his biggest impact was when I wasn’t sure how to lay my first flap during a complicated surgical procedure. Instead of taking over, he guided my hands through each step. When the appointment was almost over, he even helped me with my mattress suture.”

Dr. Stacie Pettit (College of Education)

“Dr. Pettit is an amazing professor, mentor and advisor. She is always very responsive to emails and genuinely cares about her students. Last semester I was worried that I would not be able to afford school because I ran out of my HOPE hours. I contacted Dr. Pettit and asked if she knew of anything that I could do to stay in school. We worked together looking for scholarships and various other ways for me to afford paying for school.”

Dr. Kathryn McLeod (Medical College of Georgia)

“Dr. Kathryn McLeod goes out of her way to teach students. In the midst of a horrific flu season with a full hospital and extra learners on the team, she makes time to have daily teaching sessions in the afternoons. She points out physical exam findings, teaches high yield topics and goes over a PowerPoint presentation about pediatric diseases that are high yield for the student’s exams. She goes over student notes, gives feedback and always completes evaluations in a timely manner with helpful comments. She is an exemplary teacher!”

To nominate someone for the Caught in the Act of Great Teaching Award: Students, staff and faculty members are invited to nominate faculty members for the award – with a nomination that includes a description of no more than 100 words of the act that led to the nomination. A committee reviews nominations and rates them for the extent to which the nomination identified an act that was exemplary.