2021 Great Teacher Award Recipients

INTRODUCING

Our 2021

GREAT TEACHER AWARD

Recipients!

60 Years of Excellence in the Classroom 1961 – 2021

By Linda Perry

W

e are happy to be celebrating 60 years of honoring our greatest teachers on the University of Kentucky campus.

Since 1961, the UK Alumni Association has recognized six professors each year with a Great Teacher Award based on outstanding teaching and concern for students inside and outside of the classroom.

It is the oldest, continuously given award for teachers on campus.

Nominations are accepted from current students only. Recipients are selected by a committee appointed by the UK Alumni Association Board of Directors and representatives of the student organization Omicron Delta Kappa.

It’s our pleasure to introduce to you some of the hardest working and most inspirational teachers that help UK students to thrive.

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KE N TUCKY A LU MN I MAG A ZIN E Spring 2021

CHRISTOPHER CRAWFORD

College of Arts & Sciences, Physics & Astronomy Nominator:

Diana Sahibnazarova, Arts & Sciences junior, physics major

Christopher Crawford is a professor and the director of Graduate Studies in the Physics & Astronomy Department, running one of the largest graduate programs on campus. He is a leading nuclear experimental physicist, a member of 10 national and international experimental collaborations and mentor to many UK students.

Diana Sahibnazarova, nominator, is passionate about how talented and valuable Crawford is to the UK campus. She says there were times when she was faced with many struggles, but his encouragement inspired her to continue.

“Dr. Crawford sees the positive factors in every human being and especially students … because of Dr. Crawford’s support, willingness to help and openness in communication, I was able to push through and keep going in college,” says Sahibnazarova. “Dr. Crawford is a supportive, helpful, open-hearted, diverse and intelligent professor who is a real researcher with a passion to teach.”

A native of Canada, Crawford earned a doctorate at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and both a master’s degree and bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University. His research focuses on neutron

reactions including neutron decay, fusion and the search for a reaction mechanism responsible for depletion of the deadly antimatter present in the early universe. He invented a technique for designing precision electromagnets that are used to manipulate neutrons and is developing smart data collection systems to detect and identify the invisible particles present in his experiments.

“Dr. Crawford is an advisor for students who are majoring in physics. Also, he serves as a mentor for multiple undergraduate students, graduate students and postdocs,” says Sahibnazarova. “He is very involved in physics research and publications which members of his group present at different national, international and local conferences.

His research is performed far outside of the University of Kentucky, which allows students to collaborate on different projects between Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Tennessee, and Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico, while being full-time faculty at the University of Kentucky. He supports his students mentally, provides funds to students to work for him and allows them to bring new ideas into projects.”

JOSEPH H. HAMMER Joseph H. Hammer is a licensed psychologist and associate professor of counseling psychology and director of training in the UK Department of Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology. His research seeks to improve health by increasing access to health care, and he examines what helps or stops people from seeking mental health care when they need it.

Zack Dschaak, nominator, attests to Hammer’s acquaintance with current issues in his subject field and competence in dealing with student’s questions. “All of his instruction, research and service work is very intentional, considers the socio-political climate and has very specific tangible implications that promotes the well-being of vulnerable populations,” says Dschaak.

“With regard to his students’ questions, Dr. Hammer’s competence arises out of his strong attention to detail, cultural awareness and deliberate willingness to devote flexible time to student’s personal and professional development. Every student that has sought him out for consultation leaves his office feeling supported, heard and more confident regarding their concerns.”

Originally from Chicago, Hammer earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology at the

University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, a master’s in counseling psychology at the University of Missouri, and doctorate in counseling psychology at Iowa State University. Over his 10-year teaching career, he taught psychology students at the undergraduate (Iowa State University) and graduate level (UK). At UK, he teaches graduate students how to provide effective mental health services to diverse clientele.

His courses include counseling techniques, counseling theories, counseling practicum and career counseling. He uses a flipped classroom design, where students learn the concepts in advance of class through readings and videos, allowing them to spend class time practicing putting the psychotherapy skills they are learning into practice.

“In his few years here, he has assisted more than 50 students through his academic advising, clinical supervision and serving as part of a students’ dissertation committee,” says Dschaak. “All of this requires an enormous amount of time and effort, but again, he has always been willing and grateful for the opportunity to assist students. What he has done for our college, the department and students cannot even come close to being measured.”

College of Education, Department of Educational, School and Counseling Psychology Nominator:

Zach Dschaak, Counseling Psychology grad student, counseling psychology major

www. u kal u mni. net

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CHAD RISKO

College of Arts & Sciences/ Chemistry Nominators:

Vinayak Bhat, Chamikara Karunasena, Anton Perera, Keerthan Raghavendra Rao, Josiah Roberts, Arts & Sciences grad students, chemistry majors Parker Sornberger, Arts & Sciences junior, chemistry and computer science

Chad Risko, associate professor in the Chemistry Department, uses creative teaching practices and techniques in the classroom, like all his fellow Great Teacher recipients.

Anton Perera, nominator, is enthusiastic about Risko’s abilities as a teacher. “His Computing and Data Science in Chemistry class was quite different from a normal class. It was full of in-class activities and collaborative projects where we were given the chance to share and develop our knowledge by associating with our peers. The best part is, that did make us do a lot of work but without being stressed or overwhelmed,” he says. “The best quality I have seen is his time management and organization. All of his courses are extremely well structured, and he provides a timeline of the whole semester’s activities on the first day of class itself and gives timely reminders on assignments so that we can plan early and do well in the course.”

Risko received his doctoral degree at the Georgia Institute of Technology and his bachelor’s degree at Baker University in Kansas. He has been at UK since 2014. Risko’s research blends principles from organic and physical chemistry, condensed-matter physics and materials science to develop theoretical materials chemistry approaches to better

understand and design materials for advanced electronics and power generation and storage applications.

He was named a 2016 Emerging Investigator by the Journal of Materials Chemistry (Royal Society of Chemistry), received a 2018 Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award, was selected as a 2018 Cottrell Scholar (Research Corporation for Science Advancement, RCSA) and was a recipient of the 2019 UK College of Arts & Sciences Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Research Mentoring. He has approximately 7,500 citations and 140 publications.

Another nominator, Chamikara Karunasena, indicates it is more than just Risko’s service in the classroom. “I feel very comfortable discussing matters with him not only within official capacity, but also in a personal standpoint. I often seek his advice on personal matters, as well as managing school, work, research and family life. He is actively involved in the graduate student association, and I have seen many times members converse casually with him to share opinions.

Many of my colleagues recognize him as a ‘goto’ person when it comes to seeking solutions,” says Karunasena.

CLARK KEBODEAUX Students thrive when their teachers are highly creative in developing course content that enhances their knowledge and solidifies course objectives. That’s how nominator Scotty Reams describes the classes of Clark Kebodeaux, a clinical associate professor of pharmacy practice and science.

“To enhance knowledge of tobacco cessation, students were divided into groups of three and assigned roles, with the first-year student acting as the patient, the second year as the practitioner and the third year as the feedback provider. The first student was tasked with creating a ‘patient’ with varying conditions, medications, etc., that might impact treatment choice. In doing so, the student became familiar with factors that impact treatment.

The second student’s clinical knowledge of those factors was uniquely tested, and the third student’s feedback skills and content knowledge were enhanced,” says Reams.

Kebodeaux graduated from the University of Kansas School of Pharmacy with a doctorate in pharmacy and completed a PGY1 communitybased pharmacy residency at the UK College of Pharmacy. He practices in an interprofessional ambulatory clinic at the Bluegrass Community Health Center, an accredited Patient Centered Medical Home with a focus

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on diabetes, substance use disorders and underserved populations. He also serves as the residency program director for the PGY1 UK Community-Based Residency Program and preceptor for APPE and IPPE student pharmacist rotations. He received the Faculty Excellence Award from the St. Louis College of Pharmacy in 2015 and the 2017-2018 Michael J. Lach Award of Innovative Teaching at the University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy.

Reams says Kebodeaux has a strong interest in helping UK students in the classroom, as well as in mentoring students. “Under his leadership, the APhA Academy of Student Pharmacists with Kentucky Alliance of Pharmacy Students provides healthcare services, free-of-charge, to thousands of Kentuckians each year and allows hundreds of students to hold leadership roles and practice clinical skills … The mentorship he provides has led to regional and national recognition for his students, with one of his mentees being named the National Good Government Student Pharmacist-of-theYear … And outside the university setting, he has mentored students serving on state and national professional association boards and committees,” says Reams.

KE N TUCKY A LU MN I MAG A ZIN E Spring 2021

College of Pharmacy, Pharmacy Practice and Science Nominator:

Scotty Reams, Pharmacy grad student, pharmacy major

KATHY SWAN Kathy Swan has been a professor in social studies education in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction since 2004.

“When it comes to social studies education, few people are as passionate, informed and engaged than Dr. Swan … Her work and research are a driving force in creating what social studies education looks like across the country. Her work has influenced state standards across the United States, making her a driving force in the conversation about what social studies should look like in the classroom. As the lead writer for the C3 Framework, which was adopted as the national standards framework for K-12 social studies education, Dr. Swan is at the absolute forefront of moving social studies teaching and learning away from rote memorization toward students’ investigation of important historical, economic, geographic and civic questions using disciplinary sources and communicating conclusions based on evidence gathered,” says Bonnie Lewis, nominator.

Swan earned her doctorate at the University of Virginia, a master’s degree in teaching from Johns Hopkins University and a bachelor’s degree in economics at Mount St. Mary’s College. She co-chairs the graduate secondary social studies program and oversees the doctoral program in social

studies education. Swan has been a fourtime recipient of the National Technology Leadership Award in Social Studies Education and works extensively with museums and other educational institutions including the Smithsonian American History Museum, Smithsonian American Indian Museum, National Geographic, Library of Congress, and the Southern Poverty Law Center, where she consults on inquiry-based initiatives for teachers. She has written several books, including her latest, “Blueprinting an InquiryBased Curriculum: Planning with the Inquiry Design Model.” She is the co-creator and co-director of two websites, C3 Teachers and Making Inquiry Possible, where she facilitates networks of educators around the world who are helping social studies and civic education become relevant in K-12 schools.

“From the first day of class, her students begin to construct their own identities as teachers by not just talking about big ideas in social studies like inquiry, literacy, equity and action — instead, they are enacting those ideas … What is especially unique about Dr. Swan’s teaching practice is the intentionality behind class time. She observes, listens to her students and spends time reflecting on what would best meet their needs in the classroom and beyond,” says Lewis.

College of Education, Curriculum and Instruction Nominator:

Bonnie Lewis, Education grad student, education sciences/curriculum and instruction major

WAYNE SANDERSON

College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering College of Public Health, Epidemiology Nominators:

Courtney Walker, Brian Kovacic Public Health grad students, biostatistics and epidemiology

“Dr. Sanderson is brilliant. His career before coming to academia means that he brings treasure troves of real-world experience to the classroom. He doesn’t just throw jargon and useless terms at students … His assignments are reflective of what we will encounter in our day-to-day lives and feature real world problems,” says Courtney Walker, one of his nominators.

Wayne Sanderson plays many roles at UK. He brings supervisory, administrative, research and teaching experience as the director of the Southeast Center for Agricultural Health and Injury Prevention.

He is also a professor in the UK Department of Epidemiology, as well as the director of the Central Appalachian Regional Education Research Center, which provides graduate and continuing education and enhances the research skills of students and professionals in the occupational health and safety field.

His role with these centers and his research focus is on occupational and environmental exposure assessment and associations with disease risks, with a particular focus on agricultural health and safety. For 42 years, he has designed and led research studies on occupational/environmental exposure risk and disease causation and prevention.

Another nominator, Brian Kovacic says, “One of the most impoverished and underserved communities in Kentucky is Eastern Kentucky, with a population made up of the lowest socioeconomic status in the state and with the highest rates of smoking, drug abuse and alcoholism. Dr. Sanderson has been a beacon of light to this community in his outreach programs, as well as his position as a researcher and friend, helping the people of Eastern Kentucky with public health problems, such as environmental exposure, workplace hazards, clean water and food resources.”

Sanderson earned his doctorate at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill in 1997. He received a master’s degree from Central Missouri State University and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Missouri. Before coming to UK in 2009, he was a professor in the University of Iowa College of Public Health. He was also the director of the Industrial Hygiene Training Program for the Heartland Center for Occupational Health and Safety. From 1978 to 2002, Sanderson was a commissioned officer in the U.S. Public Health Service for the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

www. u kal u mni. net

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