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Posted: 9/05/19

TAMIU Holds Freshmen Welcome, Recognizes Outstanding Faculty

 

Dr. Puneet Gill
Dr. Puneet Gill  

Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) freshman students convened to receive their official welcome to the University Friday, Sept. 6 at 11:30 a.m. in the Kinesiology-Convocation Building.

Some 1400 students were part of the Fall tradition known as Freshmen Welcome.

TAMIU faculty were also recognized for their teaching excellence, leadership, and scholarship with the announcement of the ‘Distinguished Teacher of the Year’ Award for this year’s recipient, Dr. Puneet Gill, assistant professor of Curriculum and Instruction. Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award winner was Kimber J. Palmer, instructor in the A. R. Sanchez, Jr. School of Business' division of International Banking and Finance

Gill has been a faculty member in the College of Education since September 2014. She holds a Ph.D. in Instructional Leadership and Social and Culture Studies in Education from the University of Alabama. Her research, which primarily focuses on STEM, health education and science education, has been published in multiple research journals, including The Effective Schools Project and Information Technologies.

Palmer, TAMIU's Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award winner, has been a member of the TAMIU faculty since 2000. She holds her Juris Doctorate (J.D.) in Law from the University of Oklahoma.  Her peer-reviewed publications include "The Federalization of the Oklahoma Law License" for the Oklahoma Bar Journal. 

Kimber Palmer
Kimber J. Palmer

 

In addition, this year's recipient of the Senator Dr. Judith Zaffirini Student Scholarship and Leadership Award, Bianca Cerda, provided brief remarks.

Also, a presentation on the University’s Reading the Globe program was offered by Dr. Conchita Hickey, Dean Emeritus and Reading the Globe ambassadors who traveled last year to Cambodia and Thailand.

This year, freshman students are collectively reading Never Stop Walking by Christina Rickardsson. A lecture by Rickardsson is slated for Friday, Oct. 4 on campus. A trip to Brazil for 15 students is being planned for Winter 2020. 

For additional information on the University’s Reading the Globe program, contact University College at 956.326.2134, visit offices in the Senator Judith Zaffirini Student Success Center or visit tamiu.edu/spotlight.

TAMIU is celebrating its 50th anniversary and its 25th anniversary at its north Laredo campus throughout 2019-2020.  A dedicated website shares the University’s transformation from a hybrid upper-level university to a full doctoral degree-granting University. It includes a calendar of Anniversary events and more at tamiu.edu/50.

For more on the University’s story, contact the TAMIU Office of Public Relations, Marketing and Information Services at 956.326.2180, email prmis@tamiu.edu, click on tamiu.edu, follow social media channels on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter or YouTube, or visit offices in the Sue and Radcliffe Killam Library, room 268.