Newswise — Dr. Andrew Mickley, professor of neuroscience at Baldwin-Wallace College, has been named Ohio Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE).
Announced in Washington, D.C. Thursday, November 20, the program salutes the most outstanding undergraduate instructors in the country—those who excel in teaching and positively influence the lives and careers of students. It is the only national program to recognize excellence in undergraduate teaching and mentoring.
Winners are selected for extraordinary dedication to undergraduate teaching, demonstrated by excellence in their impact on and involvement with undergraduate students; a scholarly approach to teaching and learning; contribution to undergraduate education in the institution, community and profession and support from colleagues and students.
"Teaching is a way of life for Andy in that his passion for teaching and his commitment to helping students learn and become hooked on learning extends well beyond the classroom and research lab," said B-W Richard Durst. "Dr. Mickley treats every moment with a student as a teaching opportunity and, when not with students, he is about the business of creating new learning opportunities for them. We are delighted by this honor for Andy and for the recognition that it brings to the truly exceptional work being done at B-W every day,"
What Makes Andrew Mickley a Stand Out Among Faculty?
A Builder and Innovator"¢ Charged with establishing a neuroscience program at B-W at a time when most study in this discipline was offered at the graduate level, he not only built a research-based neuroscience major and minor but wrote successful grants to furnish and support a neuroscience laboratory.
"¢ Since he came to the College in 1993, Mickley has received substantial support from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and has set extramural funding records at B-W. Mickley himself endowed a small fund to assist neuroscience students in traveling to present their research at national and international conferences on brain research.
Changing the Lives of Students"¢ His primary areas of research are the study of the neural substrate of fetal/neonatal behaviors and the role of glutamate and brain N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptors in early memory formation. He and his students currently conduct research concerning the neural substrate of learning, extinction and spontaneous recovery of defensive reactions to fear.
"¢ Undergraduate students are listed as co-authors with Mickley and, following their presentations at national and international meetings, they are frequently approached by graduate program representatives who woo them for prestigious programs.
"¢ Conscious of the necessity of outside funding for research, he teaches students the art of grant writing which he says is vital in "growing" the next generation of researchers who will need to know how to support their research successfully.
"¢ Nearly 100 percent of B-W neuroscience majors who have applied to graduate, medical, veterinary or other post-undergraduate education, have been admitted.
"¢ He continues to mentor his students after graduation and each year hosts a "Friends of Mickley" dinner during the annual national neuroscience meeting.
Advancing Scholarship Across the Campus"¢ Mickley initiated and funded B-W's Summer Scholars program to support faculty/student research in a living-learning campus community. He then spearheaded the academic-year Faculty/Student Collaborative program to support research and other creative work in all disciplines. Mickley serves as the director of this program. He also established the peer-reviewed "Journal of Research and Creative Studies," an on-line publishing outlet for B-W students.
A Leader Among Leaders"¢ NIH has used his research applications as "models" for other investigators who wish to engage undergraduates in research. The Journal of Undergraduate Neuroscience Education also declared his research/teaching laboratory a "model."
"¢ On a national level, Mickley was recognized as the 2007 Educator of the Year by the Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience. Through that organization, he led the development of Nu Rho Psi, the national honor society in neuroscience for which he is the executive director. He also has twice been elected by his peers as a national councilor on the Council for Undergraduate Research.
TIAA-CREF, one of America's leading financial services organizations, became the primary sponsor for the awards ceremony in 2000. Additional support for the program comes from a number of higher education associations, including Phi Beta Kappa.
CASE assembled two preliminary panels of judges to select finalists. CASE and Carnegie select state winners from top entries from faculty members nominated by colleges and universities throughout the country.
The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching was founded in 1905 by Andrew Carnegie "to do all things necessary to encourage, uphold and dignify the profession of teaching." The foundation is the only advanced-study center for teachers in the world and the third-oldest foundation in the nation. Its nonprofit research activities are conducted by a small group of distinguished scholars.
The Council for Advancement and Support of Education is the largest international association of education institutions, serving more than 3,400 universities, colleges, schools, and related organizations in 61 countries. CASE is the leading resource for professional development, information, and standards in the fields of educational fundraising, communications, marketing and alumni relations.
RSS