OSU names new Regents Distinguished Teachers

Friday, September 14, 2007

Regents Distinguished Teaching Award winners for 2007 were approved by the OSU A&M Board of Regents at its Sept. 14 meeting, and eight Oklahoma State University faculty members will be recognized during the fall convocation on Oct. 11 on the Stillwater campus.

Interim OSU System CEO and President Marlene Strathe will formally recognize the outstanding faculty members from the Stillwater campus. This will be the 17th year in which these awards have been presented.

Receiving the prestigious awards will be:

• Jeffory A. Hattey, professor of plant and soil sciences in the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources;
• Shelia Kennison, associate professor of psychology in the College of Arts and Sciences;
• Ravi Sheorey, professor of English in the College of Arts and Sciences;
• Marilyn Kletke, professor of management science and information systems in the William S. Spears School of Business;
• Camille DeYong, associate professor of industrial engineering in the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology;
• Timm Bliss, assistant professor of aviation education in the College of Education;
• Amanda Harrist, associate professor of human development and family science in the College of Human Environmental Sciences;
• James Lish, assistant professor of veterinary physiological sciences in the College of Veterinary Medicine

Recipients will receive a plaque and a permanent salary increment of $1,000, plus fringe benefits on top of normal merit increases recommended by respective department heads, according to Strathe.

Each college nominates up to three people for the award. A review and selection committee composed of an undergraduate and a graduate student, two faculty members at large, two department heads, and the provost identifies the winners. Each college has one recipient except the College of Arts and Sciences, which has two recipients due to the large number of faculty.

Hattey joined the OSU faculty in 1994 and has directed the environmental science program since 2005. He received his B.S. from Central Missouri State University and his M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville, all in agronomy.

“My teaching goal is simple,” Hattey said. “I want each student to become a learner and critical thinker by teaching them to ‘think deeply.’ Upon completion of a semester, my desire is for each student to be a better learner.”

“Dr. Hattey’s courses are never a disappointment as he expects students to not only remember information, but to be able to use the concepts outside the classroom,” said former student Lisa Fultz. “Through Dr. Hattey’s courses, I learned that knowing the information was good, but knowing where to find it and what to do with it was even better.”

Kennison joined the OSU faculty in 2000. She received her A.B. in linguistics and psychology from Harvard University and her M.S. and Ph.D. in cognitive psychology from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.

Kennison said she has two teaching goals. “Foremost, I strive to communicate the content of the course material clearly and concisely. Secondly, I strive to find ways that students can connect the course material to their everyday lives,” she said. “My philosophy is that a classroom of forty students will contain forty different individuals, with forty different interests and aspirations.”

The quality of her classroom experience is second to none, according to former student Kathryn A. Austin. “The most important attribute that makes Dr. Kennison stand out is that she takes an active interest in her student’s lives and makes them better people. I am the person that I am today due in large part to Dr. Kennison’s positive influence on my life.”

Sheorey joined the OSU faculty in 1981. He received his graduate diploma from the Central Institute of English and Foreign Languages in India, his M.A. in Teaching English as a Second Language and foreign language education, and his Ph.D. in applied English linguistics and TESL from the University of Texas-Austin.

For Sheorey, teaching is not just his chosen profession; it’s his life.

“I like to think that not only do my students go through my classes semester after semester but that my classes also go through them,” he said. “One of my former students wrote in his course evaluation: ‘We joke about Sheorey living for class.’ The student couldn’t have been more right.”

Jules Emig, an academic adviser in English, has seen Sheorey work with students for 20 years.

“Some people are born for this mission, this role in the lives of others. Ravi Sheorey is one of these. He is a teacher’s teacher, the greatest possible credit to our profession,” Emig said.

Kletke joined the OSU faculty in 1974 as an agricultural economics instructor and was named an assistant professor in management in 1981. She has been the M.S. director in management information systems since its inception, starting as interim director in 1999.

She received her B.A. in mathematics from Colorado College, her master’s in computer science from Iowa State University, and her Ph.D. in agricultural economics from OSU.

Kletke believes every student can learn something in a class they take from her.

“What each student learns while in my class is directly associated with the amount I know about my subject, the content I put into my class, the methods I use in teaching and delivering the materials, and my level of care and concern for my students,” she said.

“Meg truly embodies that special quality of a great and caring teacher — going the extra mile for students because she wants to,” said Rathindra Sarathy, Ardmore Professor of Business Administration. “Given the large number of international students from various countries in the M.S. in MIS program, she has taken an ambassadorial role and has represented us effectively here and abroad.”

DeYong joined the OSU faculty in 1996. She received her B.S. in mathematics and her master of engineering and Ph.D. in industrial engineering and management, all from OSU.

DeYong has discovered that “life-learning” applies to not only research areas, but also to teaching.

“I have a lot to learn. Students and their expectations, wants and needs change as the generations change, and we must adapt how we teach to reach them,” she said.

William J. Kolarik, industrial engineering and management professor and head, said DeYong is a “high impact teacher.”

“Coupled with her student-oriented personality and ability to find and integrate contemporary issues in her classes, she has a lasting impact on her students. Students stay in contact with her and seek out her advice and counsel for years after their class has been completed,” he said.

Bliss joined the OSU faculty as an adjunct professor in higher education administration and aviation education in 1999 and was named an assistant professor of aviation education in 2001. He received his B.S. in microbiology from Texas Tech University, his master’s degree in agricultural economics, and his Ed.D. in higher education administration, both from OSU.

He said that his teaching philosophy is homogenizing several schools of thought.

“I believe the underlying goal of education is to prepare the student’s future, which is cradled within a realistic ambit of possibility,” Bliss said.

Letters of support for this award from former students all spoke of his willingness to advise or help students in whatever they needed.

“Many times throughout my academic career, I would stop by to see Dr. Bliss, but would end up sometimes waiting for up to an hour because he had a line of students coming out of his office,” said Justin M. Dill, now a doctoral candidate. “He was helping these students with anything from personal advice to helping them navigate the sometimes confusing system that is our beloved university.”

Harrist joined the OSU faculty in human development and family science in 1998. She received her B.A. from the University of Texas and her Ph.D. in child development from the University of Tennessee.

She said her instructional goals are the same as those of a responsive parent.

“I make an effort to get to know students and their needs; I respond in a timely fashion; and I respond to students in a manner appropriate to their developmental level,” she said.

Harris is the kind of teacher that students remember because of her dedication to teaching, according to Carrick Carter, a 2005 graduate of human development and family science.

“While her work in the classroom is exceptional, Dr. Harrist goes beyond those basic teaching duties by giving individual students the information and skill to be players in the academic community,” Carter said.

Lish joined the OSU faculty as a lecturer in 1999 and was named an assistant professor in 2003. He received his B.S. and master’s degrees in wildlife ecology and his Ph.D. in zoology from OSU.

 His teaching philosophy is eclectic.

“I had borrowed and emulated the characteristics and methods of teachers in my life whom I thought were the most effective,” he said. “I had chosen those methods and characteristics that complemented my personality. I later realized that this was teaching at its best; the teacher as a conduit for the transfer of knowledge, a catalyst for learning, a role model, a mentor for the potential apprentice teachers that sit unidentified in the classroom.”

Sandra Morgan, a physiological sciences associate professor, said Lish works to make anatomy more enjoyable for the students.

“The students realize that he goes to so much effort because he truly cares that they learn the material,” Morgan said. “Anatomy is one subject that doesn’t change. The information they are learning from him now will affect their future as veterinarians.”