Board of Regents Honors College of Education Faculty for Teaching Excellence

College of Education professors Kevin Cokley and Jo Worthy were among 27 UT Austin faculty to receive the 2014 Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award, The University of Texas System’s highest teaching honor.

The Regents’ recognition program is one of the nation’s largest monetary awards for teaching in higher education, honoring the highest quality instruction and spotlighting innovation in undergraduate instruction.

A total of $2.4 million will be awarded to educators from the UT System’s 15 academic and health institutions during a ceremony Wednesday, Aug. 20, at the Shirley Bird Perry Ballroom in the Texas Union at UT Austin.

“Our excellence in teaching faculty is a critical part of the System’s vision of an institution of the first class,” said UT System Chancellor Francisco G. Cigarroa, M.D. “These awards are a reflection of the Regents placing the highest priority on undergraduate, graduate and professional teaching excellence System-wide.”

Faculty members undergo a series of rigorous evaluations by students, peer faculty members, and external reviewers. The review panels consider a range of activities and criteria in their evaluations including outstanding teaching, mentoring, personal commitment to students and motivating students in the classroom.

“UT Austin places a very high value on classroom teaching,” said UT Austin President Bill Powers. “I am pleased that the UT System is recognizing these 27 individual faculty members for their performance as teachers and their commitment to their students.”

Dr. Jo Worthy

JO WORTHY

Worthy is a professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction’s language and literacy and a department graduate adviser. She teaches classes in literacy development and pedagogy and conducts research on children’s reading interests and preferences, alternatives to grouping students according to ability, and bilingual education. In 2006, Worthy won the Elizabeth Shatto Massey Award for Excellence in Teacher Education

Dr. Kevin Cokley

KEVIN COKLEY

Cokley is a professor in the Department of Educational Psychology as well as director of UT Austin’s Institute for Urban Policy Research and Analysis. He researches African American psychology, with a focus on racial and ethnic identity development and how factors such as academic self-concept contribute to academic achievement. Cokley is a Fellow and Chair in UT Austin’s African and African American Diaspora Studies program. He’s also been honored with the Louise Spence Griffeth Fellowship for Excellence, Elizabeth Glenadine Gibb Teaching Fellowship in Education, and Charles and Shirley Thomas Award for mentoring, education, and training of ethnic minority students.