Teaching Academy Inducts Nine New Fellows, Names Imhoff Award Winners

The new Teaching Academy Fellows are, top from left: Lindsey Aloia, Hope Ballentine, Stephen Caldwell, Susan Gauch and Stephanie Hubert; and bottom: Jeffrey Murdock, Chase Rainwater, Carl Smith and Adam Stoverink.

The U of A Teaching Academy inducted nine new Fellows for the 2022-23 academic year. The new Fellows are Lindsey Aloia, Hope Ballentine, Stephen Caldwell, Susan Gauch, Stephanie Hubert, Jeffrey Murdock, Chase Rainwater, Carl Smith and Adam Stoverink.

The academy also named two finalists and the recipient of the 2022 Dr. John and Mrs. Lois Imhoff Award for Outstanding Teaching and Student Mentorship.

The Imhoff Award, presented annually by the Teaching Academy, recognizes faculty who excel in teaching introductory courses and mentoring students.

IMHOFF AWARD WINNER

The 2022 Imhoff Award recipient is Heather Walker.

Walker is the associate department chair for the undergraduate program and a teaching assistant professor in the Ralph E. Martin Department of Chemical Engineering. She teaches Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics courses, which serves students in biological sciences and biological engineering.

Walker completed a B.S.Ch.E., M.S.Ch.E. and Ph.D. at the U of A. She started with the U of A as research faculty. A large part of what she enjoyed about working in the lab was mentoring graduate students. However, chance would take her down another path.

Walker’s love for teaching started after filling in for a colleague in the classroom. She immediately fell in love with teaching and never looked back. Walker has been a valued member of the chemical engineering faculty for more than 20 years and has participated in numerous activities to hone her skills as an innovative and caring teacher. Her expertise in the classroom has been supported by her outstanding student evaluations and teaching awards. She has been honored as the Wally Cordes “Chair of the Month” and has earned Outstanding Teaching Awards in the College of Engineering, ASEE Midwest Section and in the Chemical Engineering Department.

IMHOFF AWARD FINALISTS

The teaching academy also recognizes two Imhoff Award finalists for 2022.

G. Alexander Nunn is an assistant professor in the School of Law. He teaches courses that include Constitutional Law, Evidence and Criminal Procedure: Adjudication. He also has a podcast called Excited Utterance that focuses on evidence and proof. In his classes, Nunn utilizes current cases in American law to connect his students to the content. Additionally, the pedagogical methods he uses aids in developing pathways to professional conversations with his students. As an exemplary teacher, he has been awarded the Lewis E. Epley Jr. Professor of the Year Award for Excellence in Teaching three times and the U of A School of Law Student Bar Association’s Award for Professor of the Year.

Jared Phillips is a teaching assistant professor in Fulbright College. His background as a civil rights advocate has provided him with a unique perspective that he brings to the classroom. His courses encompass a wide array of topics that include human rights, food security and modern China. Phillips uses his courses to assist students in understanding that activism begins at home, and its implications can be felt globally. He has been awarded the U of A Honors College Mentor Award four times and the U of A Matthew Kirkpatrick Teaching Award.

TEACHING ACADEMY INDUCTEES

Lindsey Aloia is an associate professor of communication and the director of the honors studies program in Fulbright College. As the honors director, she oversees more than 1,300 students. She teaches various courses that include University Perspectives, Interpersonal Communication, and Communication and Conflict. Her teaching philosophy is grounded in the belief that students must first learn to critically investigate in order to become independent thinkers. She accomplishes this by developing lessons that allow students to become owners of the information presented in her courses. As a testament to her sound pedagogical practices, Aloia was awarded a commendation for remote/hybrid teaching from the Wally Cordes Teaching and Faculty Support Center. Additionally, in 2016, 2018 and 2019, she was a nominee for Outstanding Faculty Member, awarded by the U of A associated student government.

Hope Ballentine is a teaching assistant professor in the Eleanor Mann School of Nursing and coordinator of the school’s honors program. Prior to her work as a faculty member at the U of A, Ballentine started her career as a registered nurse in labor and delivery at Mercy Hospital, as an advanced practice nurse in the ER/OB triage at Willow Creek Women’s Hospital and at a community clinic. Her experience as a nurse has allowed her to connect real-world scenarios with what she teaches in the classroom. Her teaching focus includes maternal/newborn nursing, pathophysiology and health promotion. In addition to courses taught at the U of A, Ballentine also works with nursing students in Italy during the fall semester. In 2022, Ballentine was awarded one of the most prestigious awards at the U of A, the Alumni Association’s Rising Teaching Award.

Stephen Caldwell is an associate professor in the Music Department and the chair of the faculty senate. He teaches the undergraduate sequence in conducting technique, graduate conducting lessons and the graduate sequence in choral history and literature courses. He has been instrumental in transforming the Schola Cantorum into one of the top choirs in the U.S. As a renowned conductor, he has worked with many symphonies and orchestras. As a music innovator, Caldwell is always thinking of new methods to help his students learn. During the pandemic, Caldwell embraced the use of technology to connect his student singers. He recorded each of his students singing and combined them into one video. The result was a seamless event that earned him the Cronan Award for Excellence in Teaching with Technology. Caldwell has also been awarded numerous campus accolades that include ASG’s Top Most Outstanding Faculty, the Golden Tusk from Student Affairs, Outstanding Mentor and the TFSC Remote/Hybrid Teaching Commendation.

Susan Gauch is a professor in the Computer Science and Computer Engineering Department. She earned a Ph.D. in computer science from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Gauch began her career at the U of A as chair of the Department of Computer Science and Computer Engineering in 2007. In 2015, she returned to faculty. She currently teaches courses that include program foundations one, programing paradigms and programming retrieval. Gauch teaches large-enrollment courses that sometimes exceed 200 students. Despite this, her teaching evaluations are always stellar. Her expertise in the classroom is anchored by the care she takes in guiding her students as they make decisions about their academic and professional pathways. Her exemplary teaching skills were recognized in 2022 when she earned the Charles and Nadine Baum Faculty Teaching Award.

Stephanie Hubert is a faculty member in the Apparel Merchandising and Product Development Program in the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences and an Honors College student mentor. She teaches courses that include apparel production, flat pattern and University Perspectives. Her innovation in the classroom has guided students toward creative solutions in apparel merchandizing. During the pandemic lockdowns, Hubert had students present their final projects by producing a video in the parking garage, which she called, “Beyond the Runway.” She works tirelessly to aid all of her students as they matriculate through the program. Hubert has her students work collaboratively with colleges across campus to illustrate that the apparel industry does not operate in a vacuum. Her creativity and techniques in the classroom have been noted through the campus teaching awards that she has received, including the Bumpers College Outstanding Honors Faculty Member and the U of A Honors College Outstanding Faculty Member.

Jeffrey Murdock is an associate professor of music education and the director of the Black Music Institute at the U of A. His teaching interests include music education, choral conducting, choral methods, practicum in music education, and test and measurement. He is a renowned conductor and artist who has worked with numerous orchestras and operas. As an educator, Murdock provides his students with fantastic experiences outside of the classroom. He has led his choral group in 26 states and seven countries. Additionally, he has traveled with his students throughout Arkansas to put on concerts to entice local communities to embrace the arts. His colleagues have called Murdock one of the most respected faculty in the department, and students often return to support his events. He has been awarded the Golden Tusk Award, the Most Outstanding Faculty Member Award and the Grammy Music Educator Award.

Chase Rainwater is a professor and associate department head in the Industrial Engineering Department. He teaches courses in probability and statistics, optimization and decision support systems. Rainwater’s commitment to students is exceptional. He spends countless hours helping students understand the material in his courses. He also provides mentorship to students in both the undergraduate and graduate programs, which include working with undergraduate research students, senior capstone teams and the Google sponsored, applied machine learning intensive. Rainwater is always looking to the future. Several years ago, he led an innovative charge to mainstream the department’s undergraduate program. This improvement led to Rainwater being recognized internationally and winning the 2021 Innovations in Education Competition.

Carl Smith is a professor of landscape architecture and an honors student mentor. He teaches courses that include the American landscape, advocacy and theory module, and design communications. His passion for teaching is evident in the time he spends focusing his instruction for each individual student and the care he takes in making sure that they have the tools to succeed. This is supported by the comments he has received as part of his student evaluations. Smith also shares his love for landscape architecture in the community. He volunteers with the Fay Jones School 4-H Youth Outreach Program and the Boy Scouts of America. Smith has received numerous awards for his incredible work in the classroom, including the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture, Excellence in Design Studio Teaching Award and the Senior Level and the Honors College Distinguished Artists Award.

Adam Stoverink is an associate professor of management and the director of the Walton College’s M.B.A. program. His teaching interests include leadership, empathy and navigating difficult conversations. Stoverink’s classes are sought after at the U of A by both undergraduate and graduate students. His courses force students to think not only about the academic information, but also the people skills associated with being a part of the business world. This is evident in the many positive reviews associated with his student course evaluations. As an innovator, Stoverink consistently looks for the best ways to help his students learn. One method used by Stoverink is to have his M.B.A. students receive feedback from multiple sources outside of the classroom, which he refers to as his 360-degree feedback program. As a testament to his expertise as a teacher, Stoverink was recognized as the M.B.A. Teacher of the Year in the Walton College and by Harvard Business’ Inspiring Minds Platform.

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