TAMIU Faculty Member Receives RGISC Vaughan Educator of the Year Award
A Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) faculty member’s passion for environmental advocacy and education has been recognized by the Rio Grande International Study Center (RGISC).
Dr. Puneet Gill, TAMIU College of Education associate professor, was recently named the recipient of the RGISC’s Dr. Tom Vaughan Educator of the Year Community Award. The Award recognizes outstanding contributions and dedication that have made a significant impact.
Dr. Gill said she is honored to receive the Award that affirms her advocacy, research, and teaching.
"It is an honor to receive this accolade from this groundbreaking organization, the RGISC. After I taught a signature course on climate change at TAMIU, Tricia Cortez, the executive director, asked me to teach an education workshop on climate change to the Laredo Climate Cohort.
“I continued to help and participate with the Laredo Climate Cohort even after the workshop. The Cohort was comprised of a group of 21 college-age students that convened over the summer with RGISC. It builds advocacy for climate change issues through skills-building exercises like art-making, film, public speaking, and writing,” Gill explained.
She said the experience was mutually beneficial and also earned the Laredo City Council’s support.
“I learned as much as I taught, and I hope to bring these skills to the science education classes I teach and discuss climate change education in K-12 schools through advocacy and research. Due to this work by the RGISC and the 21 college students, the City Council voted to create a Climate Task Force to address the issues of climate change and work on sustainable initiatives across the Texas-México border region," she concluded.
The Award is named after Dr. Tom Vaughan, a retired longtime TAMIU biology professor and co-founder of RGISC, who has long championed the Rio Grande and environmental education.
RGISC director Tricia Cortez shared her thoughts on Dr. Gill’s selection for the Award.
“Dr. Gill has been a force in helping RGISC shape the goals and direction of our university Climate Cohort program, and now with the newly emerging Climate Task Force with the City of Laredo,” Cortez said, “We want to recognize her dedication to her students to expand their knowledge about local climate and environmental justice issues, and in conveying the sense of urgency in which we have to act and find equitable and innovative solutions for our city’s quality of life, and ultimately, its habitability.”
Gill joined the TAMIU faculty in 2014. She holds her Ph.D. in Instructional Leadership/Social and Cultural Studies in Education from The University of Alabama (UA). Her Ed.S. in Science Education, MSE in General Education, and BAS in Biology were also earned at UA.
She teaches science and math methods to pre-service teachers. Her research, which primarily focuses on STEM, health education, and socio-scientific issues in science education, has been published in multiple research journals, including The Effective Schools Project and Information Technologies. In 2017 and 2019, she was the recipient of TAMIU’s Distinguished Teacher of the Year Award.
The Rio Grande International Study Center (RGISC, pronounced risk) is a 501c3 research and advocacy environmental nonprofit incorporated in the State of Texas on January 25,1994 and focuses on water security, river restoration, clean air, climate impacts, greenspace protection, and community engagement. For more, visit https://rgisc.org
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