The Garnet Apple Award for Teaching Innovation honors the University of South Carolina’s most exceptional faculty who demonstrate an ongoing commitment to best teaching practices and an ongoing record of developing innovative strategies to enhance student learning in their courses. Six recipients received this year’s award and are to be commended for their accomplishments.

Catherine Gustafson, Associate Professor, College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management created experiential learning opportunities for USC students at mega-sized golf tournaments. Her efforts have paired hospitality, retail, and sport management students with industry professionals in multiple advanced courses, where she adapts case studies to replicate real life workplace scenarios.
Deena Isom Scott, Assistant Professor, Criminology and Criminal Justice and  African American Studies,  College of Arts and Sciences provided students with opportunities to participate in sociological exercises, activities and class trips.  Scott’s demonstrations of active learning strategies on complicated and difficult topics such as whiteness, racial identity, inequality and miscarriages of justice was impressive.
Michael “Micky” Myrick, Professor, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, College of Arts and Sciences upgraded chemistry labs with rigorous hands-on experiments and implemented integrative learning in Physical Chemistry Laboratory courses.  Myrick also integrated online work, web tutorials and the flipped classroom instructional strategy in his courses.
Charles “Andy” Schumpert, Instructor and Lab Coordinator, Department of Biological Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences integrated 360° video and virtual reality into his courses.  He utilized an engaging approach to teach challenging materials.  Schumpert also incorporated active learning strategies, use of music videos and Universal Design for Learning strategies in his classrooms.
Hayden Smith, Associate Professor, Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, College of Arts and Sciences successfully implemented online coursework (360° videos) to demonstrate difficult concepts.  Smith also utilized active learning strategies and experiential learning techniques in his courses.
David Weil, Associate Program Director, Director of Didactic Education, Department of Graduate Studies, School Medicine-Columbia implemented team-based learning approaches in his courses.  Weil is also committed to flipped learning and designed assessments based on stressful real-world cases.

The 2020 Garnet Apple Awards winners have successfully adapted and built upon cutting-edge best teaching practices in their courses. They have shown that they are highly creative and effective in developing new course materials, classroom methods or pedagogical approaches. We thank this year's winners for their contributions to the university.