This month we recognize the professors from a wide range of disciplines who were honored at the Sixth Annual Celebration of Teaching Excellence. UT Dallas President Richard C. Benson and Provost Inga Musselman presented faculty with their 2023 awards.
Dr. Salena Brody is a professor of instruction in psychology in the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, as well as assistant director of the Center for Teaching and Learning. She has taught at UTD since 2005 and received a President’s Teaching Excellence Award in Undergraduate Instruction earlier this year.
Dr. Mustapha Ishak-Boushaki, whose research focuses on astrophysics and cosmology, first came to UT Dallas 17 years ago. Throughout his career at UTD, Ishak-Boushaki has earned other teaching accolades, including a President’s Teaching Excellence Award in Graduate/ Professional Instruction, and has been recognized for his research, including election as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and as a fellow of the American Physical Society.
Read more: Cosmologist Wins Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award
President’s Teaching Excellence Award Undergraduate Instruction (Tenure-system faculty)
Dr. Bing Lv is an associate professor in the Department of Physics. Besides normal classroom teaching, he loves to get involved in undergraduate research programs, where he can train and inspire Comet undergraduates to enrich their scientific research skills and foster their academic and research excellence. He received an NSM Teaching Award in 2019. He has active research programs including experimental quantum materials, high thermal conducting and new 2D semiconductors and dielectric materials.
President’s Teaching Excellence Award Undergraduate Instruction (Non-tenure-system)
Dr. Tariq Ali is an associate professor of instruction in the Department of Bioengineering. He played a key role in designing electronics and bio-instrumentation courses in the newly formed department. He is an enthusiastic and innovative educator who has designed and taught some high-impact electronics theory and laboratory courses to help students reach their engineering design potential in a short amount of time. He has won several department and school-level teaching awards, and a CTL Instructional Improvement Award.
President’s Teaching Excellence Award Graduate/Professional Instruction
Dr. Meghna Sabharwal is a professor in the public and nonprofit management program where she teaches graduate courses in public management, public human resources management, organizational theory and nondiscrimination. She has also been a committee member for 46 doctoral dissertations, with 19 of them being chaired or co-chaired by her. She was recognized with the Outstanding Community Outreach and Engagement Award in 2022. In 2016 she received the Inclusive Excellence and Intercultural Engagement Teaching Award sponsored by the former Office of Diversity and Community Engagement at UT Dallas.
President’s Teaching Excellence Award Online/Blended Instruction
Dr. Dohyeong Kim is a Professor of Public Policy and Geospatial Information Sciences, currently serving as the Associate Dean of Graduate Education in the School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences. He has been instrumental in securing multi-million-dollar research grants from prestigious organizations like the World Health Organization, the U.S. National Institute of Health, the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research, and various funding agencies overseas. Dohyeong’s research expertise spans a wide range of interdisciplinary public policy and planning aspects, with a particular focus on health and environmental policy analysis.
President’s Teaching Excellence Award for Teaching Assistants
Nan Clement is a PhD candidate in economics. She has served as a TA for more than ten classes, ranging from introductory to PhD level courses in various modalities since joining UT Dallas in 2019. Furthermore, she was the instructor of record for the undergraduate major core, Intermediate Microeconomic Theory, from Fall 2021 to Fall 2022. Nan has also actively participated in services such as Assessment Days, various student advisory councils, and TA orientations. In addition to her teaching activities, she is currently working on research projects in the economics of digitization, with a focus on cybersecurity and privacy.
Dr. Victoria McCrady is an assistant professor of instruction in management. She specializes in teaching undergraduate students clear, concise business communication skills. Her experience as a tax consultant at Deloitte and a technical writer at a software company inform her research, practice and class examples. This semester, McCrady also received a highly coveted “Owlie” award and was voted by students and colleagues to be an “Outstanding Faculty Leader” in the business school. Additionally, she has served as the academic director for international partnerships for the business school for the past six years, building partnerships with universities and other institutions worldwide to encourage research, collaboration, and student exchange. In this role, she has facilitated two virtual exchanges for UT Dallas students, one with Deakin University in Australia (a virtual consulting competition during the pandemic lockdown) and another with Polyvia Formation in France.
Courtney Milavec earned her bachelor’s in biology and environmental science from St. Lawrence University. She’s currently working towards her master’s in education from Harvard University, focusing on higher education leadership, policy, and crisis management. Before moving to Texas, she was a Recruitment Specialist for Montana Tech where she prioritized recruiting underrepresented students and hosted summer camps in Yellowstone as part of those efforts. She started her ATEC career in 2018 and is the Staff Advisor for ATEC’s LLC and a member of UT Dallas Military and Veteran Advisory Council.
Dr. Mustapha Ishak-Boushaki, whose research focuses on astrophysics and cosmology, came to UT Dallas in 2006. Boushaki’s impressive track record includes helping graduate students accumulate approximately 60 peer-reviewed publications with more than 4,200 journal citations. His students have received a remarkable 32 total scholarships, fellowships, and awards, and his exceptional caring and guidance extends beyond their time at UT Dallas.
Dr. Rashaunda Henderson, a professor of electrical and computer engineering, is the inaugural winner of this award. She is a very engaged mentor, attending several faculty mentoring program activities and participating in both career development and social events. Her mentee, Dr. Ifana Mahbub, said Henderson generously allowed mentees to use and borrow equipment from her lab and called her “a wonderful colleague, mentor, and friend”