University Honors Program 2016 Faculty Nominees, Winner Named
Nominees by Texas A&M International University’s University Honors Program (UHP) students for UHP Faculty Member of The Year were honored at a special reception this month.
From the group of five nominees, Dr. Jack Byham, assistant professional of Political Science, College of Arts and Sciences, was named the recipient of a plaque and a $500 award. All nominees received a certificate to acknowledge their achievement.
Dr. Deborah Blackwell, UHP director and associate professor of History, said the nominations acknowledge the students’ respect for those faculty that help to bring out the best in the University’s talented undergraduates.
“Without faculty such as these, the Honors Program would be unable to function,” noted Dr. Deborah Blackwell, “The students and I are grateful for all of the dedication that TAMIU faculty bring to their work.”
Among remarks culled from Dr. Byham’s nominations was this from a student:
“His wide range of subjects exercise my critical thinking skills and ensures that I will be well read in political treatises…Partly because of him, I have decided to continue my studies at the graduate level and have applied to the BAMA Program at TAMIU.”
Other nominees included Dr. John Dean, associate professor of English, College of Arts and Sciences; Dr. Richard Hall, adjunct faculty of History, College of Arts and Sciences; Dr. Jyotsna Mukherji, associate professor of Marketing, A. R. Sanchez, Jr. School of Business and Dr. Sebastian Schmidl, assistant professor of Biology, College of Arts and Sciences.
Other student thoughts on these nominations:
On Dr. Dean – “Dr. Dean’s insight and obvious concern for our progress was a great indicator of his quality as a professor and as a person.”
On Dr. Hall – “Dr. Hall is an inspirational figure whose academic life is something that I hope to emulate in my academic future.”
On Dr. Mukherji – “Dr. Mukherji sees the potential in every student and brings out the marketing strategist within each person. She makes you think and develop ideas that are outside the box.”
On Dr. Schmidl – “He has made time in his busy schedule, for almost a year now, for weekly meetings in order for my projects to excel…with his help, I have accomplished my projects…and increased my overall confidence in my abilities.”
Last year, Dr. Michael Kidd, assistant professor of biology, was named the 2014-2015 University Honors Program Faculty Member of the Year.
The University Honors Program provides intensive, advanced critical thinking and undergraduate research opportunities to TAMIU’s most academically talented students and has done so since its inception in 2000.
For more information, contact Blackwell at 326.2133 or email honors@tamiu.edu
University office hours are 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday – Friday.
Additional information is also available at http://www.tamiu.edu/honors/ and https://www.facebook.com/txamiu.honors/
University Honors Program Faculty Nominees
TAMIU Provost, Dr. Pablo Arenaz and TAMIU President, Dr. Ray Keck congratulate nominees for Texas A&M International University’s 2016 University Honors Program Faculty Member of the Year. Left to right, Dr Arenaz, Dr. Deborah Blackwell, University Honors Program director, and nominees Dr. John Dean, Dr. Jack Byham, Dr. Sebastian Schmidl, Dr. Richard Hall, Dr. Jyotsna Mukherji, and Dr. Keck.