The official blog for the Fulbright College of Arts & Sciences

Nearly 100 Faculty Across U of A Earn Credentials in Teaching Excellence This Spring

by | Jun 7, 2023 | Awards & Honors, Faculty Points of Pride, Features

Ninety-seven faculty from the Fulbright College of Arts and SciencesCollege of EngineeringSam M. Walton College of BusinessDale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life SciencesCollege of Education and Health Professions; and Global Campus recently earned teaching micro-credentials from the Association of College and University Educators.

The impressive group was recently honored at a ceremony that included remarks from Chancellor Charles Robinson and Provost Terry Martin, who both commended the awardees’ commitment to teaching excellence.

This latest achievement brings the U of A up to more than 190 teaching micro-credentials that have been awarded from ACUE since the teaching development program began on campus in 2021.

What started as a pilot in Fulbright College quickly expanded to colleges and units throughout campus to bolster teaching excellence at the U of A. Deb Korth, assistant dean for student success in Fulbright College, leads the campus ACUE certification process. 

“Teacher success equals student success, which is why I felt like it was important to support our teachers with high-quality faculty development programming,” Korth said.

The ACUE micro-credentials are earned in interactive online and peer-to-peer programming sessions that focus on core teaching competencies. This spring’s faculty cohort earned micro-credentials across three competency areas: Inspiring Inquiry and Preparing Lifelong Learners, Promoting Active Learning in Online Courses, and Creating an Inclusive and Supportive Learning Environment.

Faculty who complete all four of the micro-credentials offered by ACUE earn a Certificate in Effective College Instruction from the organization, which is also endorsed by the American Council on Education.

Lynn Meade, teaching assistant professor in Fulbright College’s Office of Student Success, completed more than 50 hours of micro-credential instruction to earn the full certificate this spring.

“I have been teaching for 20 years and wasn’t sure if there would be new things for me to learn, but ACUE provided not only foundational teaching materials, but also new research on the science of teaching and learning,” Meade said. “I particularly appreciated the variety of applications demonstrated for the various techniques. It has definitely made me a better teacher.”

The following faculty earned micro-credentials this spring across the below three competencies:

Inspiring Inquiry and Preparing Lifelong Learners Micro-Credential:

  • Lindsey Aloia, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences
  • Brianna Annaratone, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences
  • Margaret Butcher, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences
  • Richard Cassady, College of Engineering
  • Louise Cole, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences
  • Brandon Crisel, College of Engineering
  • Monica Davanzo, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences
  • Claudia Devich, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences
  • Elizabeth Dickerson, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences
  • Michael Duffy Junior, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences
  • Aysa Galbraith, College of Engineering
  • Matt Gerner, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences
  • Phil Harrington, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences
  • Lisa Hinrichsen, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences
  • Shanda Hood, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences
  • Faith Lesner, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences
  • Deborah Korth, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences
  • Leslie Massey, College of Engineering
  • Danielle Maynard, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences
  • Lynn Meade, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences
  • Michael McCoy, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences
  • Alyssa Papineau, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences
  • Zachary Payton, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences
  • Weston Perrine, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences
  • Chloe Riggs, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences
  • Micheal Riha, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences
  • Gretchen Scroggin, College of Engineering
  • Tom Shields, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences
  • Ninette Sosa, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences
  • Lora Streeter, College of Engineering
  • JaLynn Thomas, Sam M. Walton College of Business
  • Heather Walker, College of Engineering
  • Dene Wamsley, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences
  • Angela Williams, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences
  • Liam Zachary, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences

Promoting Active Learning in Online Courses Micro-Credential:

  • Hawraa Alzouwain, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences
  • Jennifer Becnel, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences
  • Dave Bostwick, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences
  • Hilary Bowling, College of Education and Health Professions
  • Amy Bradley, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences
  • Kevin Brady, College of Education and Health Professions
  • Mike Brown, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences
  • Laurel Fulgham, College of Education and Health Professions
  • Betsy Garrison, Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences
  • Joshua Girshner, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences
  • Dede Hamm, Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences
  • Bob Hinton, Global Campus
  • Anna Jarrett, College of Education and Health Professions
  • Nathan Kemper, Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences
  • Rodica Lisnic, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences
  • Ann Lofton, College of Education and Health Professions
  • Renette McCargo, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences
  • Matthew Mihalka, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences
  • Ken Muessig, Global Campus
  • Tyler Overstreet, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences
  • Lisa Pierce, Sam M. Walton College of Business
  • Robert Powell, Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences
  • Rocio Ritter, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences
  • James Roddy, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences
  • Ananda Rosa, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences
  • Richard Salonen, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences
  • Karl Schubert, College of Engineering
  • Christy Smith, College of Education and Health Professions
  • Hayot Tuychiev, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences
  • Susan Tyler, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences
  • Charini Urteaga, Global Campus
  • Emily Woodruff, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences

Creating an Inclusive and Supportive Learning Environment Micro-Credential:

  • Erika Almenara, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences
  • Kara Andree, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences
  • D. Scott Borden, Sam M. Walton College of Business
  • Eric Button, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences
  • Dale Carlton, Sam M. Walton College of Business
  • Kate Chapman, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences
  • EmmaLe Davis, Sam M. Walton College of Business
  • David Dobrzykowski, Sam M. Walton College of Business
  • Sarah Dobrzykowski, Sam M. Walton College of Business
  • Cadi Fung, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences
  • Jana Gastineau, Sam M. Walton College of Business
  • Jennifer Greenhill, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences
  • Kevin Hall, College of Engineering
  • David Jensen, College of Engineering
  • Kathy Koziol, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences
  • James Lampinen, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences
  • Rebecca Leach, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences
  • Angela Mensah, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences
  • Valentina Morello, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences
  • John Wayne Morris, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences
  • Lauren Quetsch, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences
  • Brian Rickard, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences
  • Lauren Sabon, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences
  • Robert Saunders, College of Engineering
  • Heath Schluterman, College of Engineering
  • Deanna Shields, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences
  • Eric Specking, College of Engineering
  • Susan Tyler, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences
  • Summer Woehr, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences
  • Wen Zhang, College of Engineering

Additionally, ACUE leadership has commended the U of A’s commitment to high-quality teaching by fostering the micro-credential process.

“We are honored to partner with the University of Arkansas and support their efforts to propel student outcomes through effective teaching practices,” said Paul Skordilis, chief executive officer at ACUE. “The University of Arkansas is taking a leadership role in placing quality teaching at the center of student success, and their effort is not only remarkable, but repeatable at colleges and universities around the country.”

For more information about the micro-credential process and opportunities to join the next faculty cohort, please contact Korth at dkorth@uark.edu

This story also appeared in the University of Arkansas News publication.