Students Honor UT’s Best Teachers (Watch)

By Lynn Freehill in Blog on February 19, 2011 at 11:24 am | No Comments

Though they often spend less than five months together, UT faculty members have profound impacts on their students. And what do these teachers get in return? Hurriedly filled-in evaluations, requests for references, maybe a thank-you e-mail.

The Texas Exes believes that quality teaching has a direct correlation to alumni involvement and so since 1982 has annually awarded one teacher from each college or school with the student-nominated and student-selected Texas Exes Teaching Award. In 1991 the awards added recognition for graduate students who double as teaching assistants or assistant instructors.

This year, the Texas Exes honored 27 teachers for the hours they spent tutoring students, the home phone numbers they gave out, the networking connections they provided, and the knowledge they bestowed. See a list of the 2011 winners here and past winners here.

Many of the student nominators came to the awards ceremony, including Emily Muehr, BS ’09, a graduate student in nursing who nominated Carole Taxis, associate professor of clinical nursing. After Muehr heard about the awards she enlisted her classmates to nominate Dr. Taxis and was thrilled when she was announced a winner. “It is a wonderful way to recognize such great professors on campus, all of their hard work, and their profound impact on students’ lives,” Muehr says.

We asked Muehr to tell us — and Taxis — about what makes the professor stand out from all her other teachers. See the endearing exchange between teacher and student below.

Photo at top of 2011 recipients by Shauna D. Mora. Video editing by Taylor McCausland.