Temple will celebrate excellence in teaching, research and the creative arts with a special convocation honoring this year’s faculty award recipients on Thursday, April 22 at noon in Mitten Hall’s Great Court.

Each fall, the President and Provost’s Offices ask faculty, students and alumni to nominate outstanding teachers for the Great Teachers Award, the Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching, the Provost's Award for Innovative Teaching in General Education and several Research and Creative Achievement awards.

Considered one of the university’s most prestigious awards, the Great Teachers Award honors faculty who exhibit excellence in both scholarship and teaching. This year’s recipients will be John Johnson, professor of music theory; Miles Orvell, professor of English and American Studies; and Jonathan Scott, associate professor of finance. Each winner will receive a $15,000 stipend and a commemorative sculpture, and their names will be engraved on the Founder’s Garden wall.

Six faculty members will receive the Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching. Sponsored by the Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Foundation, this award is given to professors who demonstrate command of their subject in and out of the classroom and ability to relate it to other subjects. This year’s honorees will be Peter Axelrod, professor of medicine in the section of infectious diseases; Li Bai, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering; Thomas Gould, associate professor of psychology; R. Craig Green, associate professor of law; Vanessa Lawrence, associate professor of legal studies; and Andrew Mendelson, associate professor of journalism. Each will each receive a $4,000 stipend and a framed award certificate.

The Provost's Award for Innovative Teaching in General Education recognizes faculty members who demonstrate excellence in GenEd course development and teaching. This year, Samuel D. Hodge Jr., of the Fox School of Business; Julia Mendenhall, of the College of Liberal Arts; and Robert Yantorno, of the College of Engineering, will receive the honor, which brings with it a $4,000 stipend and certificate.
Finally, the Eberman Faculty Research Award will be given to Valdislav Zubok of the history department; the Temple University Faculty Research Award to George Baran of the department of mechanical engineering and Daniel Fesenmaier of the department of tourism and hospitality management; and the Faculty Award for Creative Achievement to Marie A. Chiment of the theater department. Each will receive $2,500 in addition to a framed certificate.

Winners are selected by an awards committee following an evaluation of nominees’ teaching skills and styles as represented in nomination letters from faculty members, students and alumni; student course evaluations; peer reviews; seminar presentations; and other related work.

All faculty are invited to attend the April 22 celebration. To RSVP, contact the Office of Special Events at specialevents@temple.edu or 215-204-1636.