2020 Faculty Award Winners

Celebrating faculty passion and expertise

Congratulations to all our 2020 Faculty Award winners from our Columbia and Palmetto College Regional campuses.

This year's winners represent a wide range of disciplines and differ broadly in their individual styles and classroom methods, yet they all share a genuine commitment to their students and the ability to find creative, successful ways to convey their passion and expertise in the classroom.

Center for Teaching Excellence

Dr. Catherine Gustafson

School of Hotel, Restaurant, and Tourism Management
College of Hospitality, Retail, and Sport Management

Dr. Catherine Gustafson is an Associate Professor within the College of Hospitality, Retail, and Sport Management created experiential learning opportunities for UofSC students at mega-sized golf tournaments. Her efforts have paired hospitality, retail, and sport management students with industry professionals in multiple advanced courses, where she adapts case studies to replicate real life workplace scenarios.

Dr. Deena Isom Scott

Criminology and Criminal Justice & African American Studies
College of Arts & Sciences

Dr. Deena Isom Scott is an Assistant Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice and African American Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences provided students with opportunities to participate in sociological exercises, activities and class trips. Scott’s demonstrations of active learning strategies on complicated and difficult topics such as whiteness, racial identity, inequality and miscarriages of justice was impressive.

Dr. Michael Myrick

Chemistry and Biochemistry
College of Arts & Sciences

Dr. Michael Myrick is a Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry in the College of Arts & Sciences. He upgraded chemistry labs with rigorous hands-on experiments and implemented integrative learning in Physical Chemistry Laboratory courses. Dr. Myrick also integrated online work, web tutorials and the flipped classroom instructional strategy in his courses.

Dr. Charles Schumpert

Biological Sciences
College of Arts & Sciences

Dr. Charles Schumpert is an Instructor and Lab Coordinator in the Department of Biological Sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences. He integrated 360° video and virtual reality into his courses. He utilized an engaging approach to teach challenging materials. Dr. Schumpert has incorporated active learning strategies, use of music videos and Universal Design for Learning strategies in his classrooms.

Dr. Hayden Smith

Criminology and Criminal Justice
College of Arts & Sciences

Dr. Hayden Smith is an Associate Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice in the College of Arts and Sciences. He successfully implemented online coursework (360° videos) to demonstrate difficult concepts. Dr. Smith has also utilized active learning strategies and experiential learning techniques in his courses.

Dr. David Weil

Graduate Studies
School of Medicine

Dr. David Weil is an Associate Program Director and the Director of Didactic Education within the Department of Graduate Studies at the School of Medicine. Dr. Weil implemented team-based learning approaches in his courses. He is committed to flipped learning and designed assessments based on stressful real-world cases.

Palmetto College

Dr. Maggie Aziz

Sociology
USC Union

Dr. Maggie Aziz is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at USC Union and serves as director of the Student Academic Success Center. She is the organizer of many events including Student Academic Workshops, the National Custodial Worker Day Fundraiser and Luncheon, and the Blood Connection Blood Drive. She has been a long-time Magellan Scholar reviewer and the Lead Principal Investigator in the Student Support Services Program Grant Proposal.

Fran Gardner

Art
USC Lancaster

Fran Gardner is a Professor of Art and Art History at USC Lancaster and serves as the Humanities Division Chair. Her work focuses on women’s voices, issues, and opportunities as they are heard and experienced in the current cultural landscape. She is sought out for her expertise in writing, curating, and speaking on contemporary art.

Dr. Sarah Hunt Sellhorst

Exercise Science
USC Lancaster

Dr. Sarah Hunt Sellhorst is a Professor of Exercise Science at USC Lancaster and serves as the Chair of the Math, Science, Nursing, and Public Health Division. Dedicated and committed to her students and their academic success, she imparts new knowledge to her students with a delivery that instills the love and joy that she has for her craft.

UofSC Columbia Faculty Awards

Dr. Linda Hazlett

Epidemiology
Arnold School of Public Health

Dr. Linda Hazlett is a Clinical Associate Professor and the Graduate Director for Epidemiology in the Arnold School of Public Health. Dr. Hazlett is the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics’ resident expert on academic integrity, and with her open-door policy, students are always free to stop by. She is a tireless advocate for students who is concerned about their overall well-being in addition to their training and professional development.

Meredith McNeice

Undergraduate Programs
Darla Moore School of Business

Meredith McNeice is an advisor in the Darla Moore School of Business. She approaches her role as an advisor with an open mind and a positive attitude with the hope that she will help a student each and every day. One of her goals is to help make students feel like our university is smaller by providing individualized help and attention.

Dr. Aaron Vannucci

Chemistry & Biochemistry
College of Arts & Sciences

Dr. Aaron Vannucci is an Assistant Professor for the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry in the College of Arts & Sciences. His advising philosophy is based on developing a collaboration between the student and him. Simply put he believes that his role as an advisor is not to tell students what to do, but to guide and to teach the students how they can achieve their academic and career goals. He believes that each student is unique and their academic situations and goals are constantly evolving.

Dr. Jeff Hall

Family and Preventive Medicine
School of Medicine

Dr. Jeff Hall is a Clinical Associate Professor of Family & Preventive Medicine at the School of Medicine-Columbia. When Dr. Hall develops curricula and experiences for learners, the words collaborative and experiential come up frequently. He tells his students they will need to work together, and they will need to do stuff. He believes that hands on educational sessions provide a deeper and more durable understanding than the most effective lecturers. Additionally, he finds that his work with students often teaches them to look at the whole patient and their environment and then find ways to effectively deliver needed interventions.

Dr. Andrew Sides

Internal Medicine
School of Medicine

Dr. Andrew Sides is a Clinical Associate Professor of Internal Medicine at the School of Medicine-Columbia. Described as an innovative teacher, incorporating new methods, modern technology, and accessible approaches to deliver content to the learners. He is strong believer in gamification. Additionally, Dr. Sides created a radiology learning game that many of his students have really enjoyed and rated as helpful. He feels the most important aspect for medical students at this early stage of training is to model the behavior we want from them in their interactions with patients, families, and multidisciplinary medical teams.

Dr. Andrew Greytak

Chemistry & Biochemistry
College of Arts & Sciences

Dr. Andrew Greytak is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry in the College of Arts & Sciences. His first principle as a teacher is to convey to students that he really cares about their success. He prepares handouts and guides that go beyond what’s found in textbooks to help the students prepare. He begins each lecture with slides highlighting an aspect of Chemistry in the news or everyday life, from nuclear waste storage to electric cars to smelting of iron. He tells them about his research or research elsewhere at UofSC, to help illustrate how the concepts they are discussing in class are being applied in the real world.

Dr. Anna Swartwood House

School of Visual Art & Design
College of Arts & Sciences

Dr. Anna House is an Assistant Professor of Art History for the School of Visual Art & Design in the College of Arts & Sciences. Her teaching philosophy is “knowledge is constructed not passively received.” One of the most effective ways to teach art history is to show its continuing relevance in the present day. One way Dr. House makes teaching “stick” is to ask students to research and then teach some aspect of the course material. Her students are also asked to collaborate to create study guides and possible essay questions for exams.

Mary Robinson

School of Visual Art & Design
College of Arts & Sciences

Mary Robinson is a Professor of Studio Art for the School of Visual Art and Design in the College of Arts & Sciences. She believes that through teaching, learning, mentoring, and setting an example as a practicing artist, she encourages students to view themselves as artists and citizens of a broader community locally and globally. Additionally, she provides her students with the opportunity to recognize what is effective in their own work as well as the work of others and how to improve.

Dr. Wendy Valerio

Music Education
School of Music

Dr. Wendy Valerio is a Professor of Music Education in the School of Music. Her teaching careers is guided by the philosophy of “modeling and supporting professionalism, scholarship, and active music making practices.” As an early childhood/elementary music development specialist who researches human music development and learning through social music interaction, she has observed that children of all ages learn music and seem to enjoy music, by engaging musically rather than being taught music. She believes that music is a birth right of each human being and everyone in her class has music learning potential.

Dr. Michael A. Matthews

Chemical Engineering & Biomedical Engineering
College of Engineering & Computing

Dr. Michael Matthews is the Senior Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Education for the College of Engineering and Computing. He has demonstrated excellence and innovation in graduate teaching for the College of Engineering and Computing. Dr. Matthews has implemented courses that use a formal education model to train graduate students in critical reading, information literacy, publishing and preparing for the post-graduate school workplace. Additionally, he mentors candidates for national graduate scholarships.

Dr. Lara Lomicka Anderson

Languages, Literatures and Cultures
College of Arts and Sciences

Dr. Lara Lomicka Anderson is a Professor in the Department Languages, Literature and Cultures in the College of Arts and Sciences and Faculty Principal of Preston College. Her passion for her work and commitment to her position enriches the campus learning experiences for students in various ways. Dr. Lomicka Anderson is known to invite students to her family dinners and has an unprecedented open door policy and an equally impressive engagement in student activities. She mentors hundreds of residential students every year and encourages students' novelty, creativity, and leadership. She supports first year students, first generation students and those with academic challenges. The opportunities and guidance she provides help students to learn from experiences and cultivates new student leaders.

Dr. Jim F. Thrasher

Health Promotion, Education and Behavior
Arnold School of Public Health

Dr. James Thrasher currently serves as the Deputy Director of Global Health Initiatives for the Arnold School of Public Health and as Co-Chair of the Doctoral Committee for Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior Department. Dr. Thrasher’s nationally and internationally renowned research focuses on how media and policies influence tobacco- and nutrition-related perceptions and behaviors. He has a distinguished record of mentorship, student research training, and professional/community service. Dr. Thrasher is often invited to lead and guide national and international advisory and policy committees and in 2016 received the WHO’s World No Tobacco Day Award.

Dr. Thomas Brown

History
College of Arts & Sciences

Dr. Thomas Brown is a Professor of History in the College of Arts & Sciences. His colleagues describe him as a very talented, imaginative historian who works in more than one field, including, legal history, biography, and cultural history. He has the research depth and historian’s range to make history open to broad readership that can be easily digested. Dr. Brown’s scholarship and publication record have been pivotal in building the stellar scholarly reputation of the University of South Carolina Department of History.

Dr. Qi Wang

Mathematics
College of Arts & Sciences

Dr. Qi Wang is a Professor in the Mathematics Department with the College of Arts & Sciences. He is a well-known modeler with deep knowledge in various formalisms of non-equilibrium phenomena. His theories have been used to study flows of liquid crystal polymers of nematic, cholesteric, smectic and biaxial phases in various geometries and flow conditions, biofilms, cytoplasm and active cells. Dr. Wang has published 169 Journal papers and eight conference papers, and edited four special issues/books. He has given invited talks to over 117 national and international meetings, and colloquium/seminar talks at 88 other institutes.

Dr. Anthony Nyberg

Management
Darla Moore School of Business

Dr. Anthony Nyberg a Professor and Academic Director for the Management Department within the Darla Moore School of Business. His published work can be categorized in two primary research programs embedded in a human capital framework: improving understanding of how and why turnover occurs and affects organizations and furthering our understanding about how and why employee rewards influence organizational outcomes. Dr. Nyberg has published 23 peer-reviewed publications in top management and applied psychology journals, one book, 13 book chapters, and a large number of scholarly conference presentations. He is an enthusiastic cultural ambassador and represents the University in an exemplary manner.

Dr. Minuette Floyd

School of Visual Art & Design
College of Arts & Sciences

Dr. Minuette Floyd is a Professor in the School of Visual Art & Design in the College of Arts & Sciences. Her service activities include serving on educational advisory boards such as McKissick Museum and the Columbia Museum of Art. Dr. Floyd is a member of the Arts in the Basic Curriculum Steering Committee, sponsored by the State Department of Education, which provides art-based workshops for school districts across the state and judges student exhibition at the SC State Fair. She believes that service opportunities will result in continued quality experiences for students that rests in discovery, creative inquiry, and engage citizenship.

Dr. Chuanbing Tang

Chemistry & Biochemistry
College of Arts & Sciences

Dr. Chuanbing Tang a Professor of Chemistry & Biochemistry and a College of Arts and Sciences Distinguished Professor. He has made outstanding contributions to research and served the profession through his educational efforts and leadership. His research addresses most important issues of sustainability: eco-friendly chemicals and materials, health and energy. Dr. Tang has published more than 140 journal articles, one book and five book chapters on basic research. The translational impact of his innovative research is evidenced by his 14 patents. He is a frequent speaker for over 150 invited talks and keynote speeches. While at UofSC, he has been awarded about $10 million in funds and research grants.

Dr. David Greven

English
College of Arts & Sciences

Dr. David Greven is a Professor of English, Language and Literature in the College of Arts & Sciences. He has published 10 books since 2005. His research crosses film/media and gender/sexuality studies, and nineteenth-century American literature. What lends true distinction to this outpouring research is the high quality of his work, with publications in top academic journals and university presses, including a recent book on Hitchcock published by Oxford University Press.

Dr. August Grant

School of Journalism and Mass Communications
College of Information & Communications

Dr. August Grant is the Director of the Center for Teaching Excellence and the J. Rion McKissick Professor of Journalism in the School of Journalism and Mass Communications. As chair of the UofSC Faculty Senate in 2015, his leadership efforts resulted in a set of five recommendations from the Office of the Provost designed to address perceived inequities affecting non-tenure track faculty. This effort ultimately led to the extension of voting rights for non-tenure track faculty on all matters except promotion and tenure. His scholarly output includes 25 edited or authored books and more than 25 refereed journal articles, and a variety of other publications.

Dr. Donna A. Chen

Chemistry & Biochemistry
College of Arts & Sciences

Dr. Donna Chen is a Professor in the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department in the College of Arts & Sciences. Dr. Chen’s research is in the area of materials physical chemistry, and her work focuses on understanding surface chemistry at the atomic and molecular level. Dr. Chen is among the top scientists in the field of surface science, and her research program involves understanding chemical reactions on catalytically active surfaces at the atomic and molecular scale. Her key contributions to the undergraduate chemistry program have been in the development of problem-solving and active-learning approaches for teaching physical chemistry. Additionally, she has almost single-handedly led the effort to create a new set of courses for chemistry majors so that classes for majors and non-majors can be separated and tailored to the needs of each group of students. Due to her efforts, we now have major courses for almost all of the required 100-300 level courses in chemistry.

Dr. Timothy M. James

History
USC Beaufort

Dr. Timothy James is an Assistant Professor of History of USC Beaufort. Dr. James has prepared our History majors to perform competitively among the national reference group, with percentile scores in the Latin American History section consistently at or near the highest among History subfields at USCB. He has served on some of the most active university committees at USCB, three of which he chaired (QEP Steering Committee, Academic Steering Committee, and Honors Steering Committee). His scholarly achievements have attracted requests to write book reviews in scholarly journals, as well as to chair panels at professional conferences. Dr. James has well-represented USCB by presenting his research at major conferences and symposia, including four out of the last five annual meetings of the American Historical Association (the largest professional organization representing historians in all fields and all professions).

Dr. Amit Almor

Psychology
College of Arts & Sciences

Dr. Amit Almor is an Associate Professor of Psychology and Director of the Experimental Psychology Graduate Program in the College of Arts & Sciences. Dr. Almor is devoted not simply to effective classroom teaching but mentoring individual students to fulfill their own potential and become their best selves. Dr. Almor takes much enjoyment out of getting the best work in his students and is invested in the success of his students. Also, his teaching and research record is distinguished, and he frequently interacts with undergraduates in courses related to cognition and language, as well as through his extensive mentoring undergraduate research and independent study. Dr. Almor challenges students to better understand the human condition and facets of cognition such as and reasoning, that allows us to study ourselves. Dr. Almor cares about his students actually learning. He makes his students think critically. He requires his students to take what he teaches and apply it in real world scenarios.

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