UT Regents announce 2022 Outstanding Teacher Awards
14 professors awarded with $25K for exceptional teaching performance

AUSTIN – Texas – The University of Texas System Board of Regents named 14 educators at UT institutions among its 2022 Outstanding Teachers. Recipients will each receive a medallion and a check for $25,000 in recognition of their contributions to student success and learning. They will be formally recognized by the Board of Regents at the upcoming board meeting in November.

“The UT System Board of Regents is honored to recognize top educators annually for their extraordinary dedication to the students they are equipping to be our future leaders,” Board of Regents Chairman Kevin P. Eltife said.

“Teaching excellence is at the core of our mission and helps ensure students with degrees from UT institutions are prepared to succeed in an ever-competitive and dynamic workforce,” Chancellor James B. Milliken said. “The UT presidents and I express profound gratitude to the Board of Regents for their continued support of honoring exceptional teachers.”

The University of Texas System Board of Regents established the annual awards program in 2008 to honor exemplary classroom performance.

Nominees undergo a series of rigorous evaluations by peer faculty and external reviewers. The review panels consider a range of activities and criteria in their evaluations of a candidate’s teaching performance, including classroom expertise, curricula quality, innovative course development and student learning outcomes.

The 2022 Outstanding Teaching Awards winners are:

Academic Institutions

  • Diego Aguirre, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Practice, UT El Paso
  • Salena Brody, Ph. D., Professor of Instruction, UT Dallas
  • Ashley Dalby, M.S., Lecturer, UT Tyler
  • Mustapha Ishak-Boushaki, Ph.D., Professor of Physics and Astrophysics, UT Dallas
  • Iya Price, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Instruction, UT Arlington
  • Adeeba Abdul Raheem, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, UT El Paso
  • Ramesh Yerraballi, Ph.D., Professor of Instruction, UT Austin

Health Institutions

  • Phyu P. Aung, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor of Pathology, UT M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
  • Blake Barker, M.D., Associate Dean of Students, UT Southwestern
  • Daniel Epner, M.D., FACP, Professor, UT M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
  • Sandra K. Hanneman, Ph.D., R.N., FAAN, Jerold B. Katz Distinguished Professor for Nursing Research, UTHealth Houston
  • Andrew Springer, Associate Professor, Dr.P.H., UTHealth Houston
  • Jacquelyn Svoboda, DNP, APRN, WHNP-C, Assistant Professor, UT Medical Branch Galveston
  • Bennett Tochukwu Amaechi, BSc, BDS, MSc, Ph.D., MFDS RCP, Professor, UT Health San Antonio

 

About The University of Texas System

For more than 130 years, The University of Texas System has been committed to improving the lives of Texans and people all over the world through education, research and health care. With 13 institutions, an enrollment of 243,000 students and an operating budget of $25.2 billion (FY 2023), the UT System is one of the largest public university systems in the United States. UT institutions produce more than 67,000 graduates annually and award more than one-third of the state’s undergraduate degrees and more than 60% of its medical degrees. Collectively, UT-owned and affiliated hospitals and clinics accounted for more than 10.6 million outpatient visits and more than 2 million hospital days in 2021. Research expenditures across UT institutions reached a record $3.5 billion last year, a number that ranks No. 1 in Texas and No. 2 in the nation based on federally sponsored research expenditures. The UT System also is one of the largest employers in Texas, with more than 22,000 faculty – including Nobel laureates and members of the National Academies – and more than 93,000 health care professionals, researchers and support staff.

News Contact Information

Catherine Frazier: cfrazier@utsystem.edu • 512-499-4360 (direct)