UTEP Faculty Awarded UT System Regents' Outstanding Teaching Awards

Last Updated on August 09, 2017 at 2:00 PM

Originally published August 09, 2017

By UC Staff

UTEP Communications

The Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Texas System Board of Regents will recognize three Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Texas at El Paso faculty members for their extraordinary classroom performance and innovative instruction in the classroom with the highly prestigious 2017 Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award (ROTA).

UTEP's 2017 UT System Regents Outstanding Teaching Award (ROTA) recipients include, from left, Isabel Baca, Ph.D., professor of English; Ann Branan Horak, Ph.D., associate professor of practice of religious studies and women’s and gender studies; and Song An, Ph.D., assistant professor of mathematics education. Photos: J.R. Hernandez / UTEP Communications
UTEP's 2017 UT System Regents Outstanding Teaching Award (ROTA) recipients include, from left, Isabel Baca, Ph.D., professor of English; Ann Branan Horak, Ph.D., associate professor of practice of religious studies and women’s and gender studies; and Song An, Ph.D., assistant professor of mathematics education. Photos: J.R. Hernandez / UTEP Communications

This year’s UTEP recipients include: Song An, Ph.D., assistant professor of mathematics education; Isabel Baca, Ph.D., professor of English; and Ann Branan Horak, Ph.D., associate professor of practice of religious studies and women’s and gender studies.

“I’m pleased that the UT System Board of Regents has honored three members of the UTEP faculty for their outstanding teaching,” said Howard C. Daudistel, Ph.D., interim provost and vice president for academic affairs. “The Regents’ recognition validates UTEP’s commitment to excellence in the classroom and our faculty’s dedication to student success. Our award-winning faculty are not only excellent classroom teachers; they are outstanding scholars who motivate UTEP students with their command of the subjects they teach and inspire students to become engaged learners by participating in a wide variety of extracurricular activities that enhance learning and professional development. Our three Regents’ Outstanding Teachers winners were selected through a highly competitive and rigorous review process. I congratulate each one of them for their dedication to student success and UTEP’s access and excellence mission.”

The ROTA was established in 2008 to recognize faculty from the system’s 14 academic and health campuses who deliver the highest quality of instruction in the classroom, laboratory, field and online. Each recipient is awarded $25,000 during an Aug. 23, 2017, celebration in Austin. Since the program's inception, 68 UTEP faculty members have received the award.

“The Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Awards is one of the nation’s largest awards programs to honor exceptional instruction in the university classroom,” Board of Regents Chairman Paul L. Foster said. “It is a reflection of the value the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Texas System and the Board of Regents place on extraordinary teaching and student success, and it represents our profound appreciation to these wonderful educators and the life-changing impact they have on students at UT institutions.”