Jefferson Scholars Foundation Recognizes Great Teaching at U.Va.

The Jefferson Scholars Foundation at the University of Virginia has announced the winners of the Jefferson Scholars Award for Excellence in Teaching and the Hartfield Jefferson Scholars Teaching Prize. Eight U.Va. faculty members across seven different academic departments will be recognized Thursday at a banquet at the foundation, where they will receive awards totaling nearly $80,000.

“Great teachers are the hallmark of every great university,” Jimmy Wright, president of the Jefferson Scholars Foundation, said. “Without educators who are committed to creating unique classroom experiences, the foundation would have an exceedingly difficult time attracting outstanding students to U.Va.”

The foundation established the Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2013, inviting department chairs from across the University to nominate any full-time faculty member who has “endeavored selflessly to instill in their students the virtues of scholarship and love of learning.”

The 2014 recipients of the Award for Excellence in Teaching are: Barry Condron, professor of biology; James Landers, professor of chemistry; and Susan Perry Williams, professor of professional accounting.

An anonymous donor established the Hartfield Prize in 2008, to be awarded annually to faculty members within the School of Engineering and Applied Science who exemplify the highest standards and practices of the teaching profession. All members of the engineering community at U.Va., including undergraduate and graduate students and faculty, were invited to submit a nomination.

The 2014 Hartfield Prize recipients are: Timothy Allen, associate professor of biomedical engineering; Joanne Dugan, professor and director of computer engineering; Dana Elzey, associate professor of materials science and engineering; William Guilford, associate professor of biomedical engineering; and Harry Powell, associate professor and director of instructional labs.

“Both of these awards reflect the foundation’s gratitude to the University’s faculty for making U.Va. a compelling place to learn, not only for Jefferson Scholars and Fellows, but also for the entire student body and broader U.Va. community,” said Bill Wilson, director of the graduate fellowship program at the Jefferson Scholars Foundation, who chaired the selection committee for the Jefferson Scholars Award for Excellence in Teaching.