Due to the campus being closed with COVID-19, the Spring 2020 Faculty Awards Ceremony
has been canceled. We hope to celebrate the winners in person this fall when we are
back on campus.
Please recognize and celebrate with us the winners of this years awards.
Celebrating faculty passion and expertise
Congratulations to all our 2020 Faculty Award winners from our Columbia and Palmetto College
Regional campuses.
This year's winners represent a wide range of disciplines and differ broadly in their
individual styles and classroom methods, yet they all share a genuine commitment to
their students and the ability to find creative, successful ways to convey their passion
and expertise in the classroom.
Center for Teaching Excellence
Dr. Catherine Gustafson
School of Hotel, Restaurant, and Tourism Management College of Hospitality, Retail, and Sport Management
Dr. Catherine Gustafson is an Associate Professor within the College of Hospitality, Retail, and Sport Management
created experiential learning opportunities for UofSC 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.
Dr. Deena Isom Scott
Criminology and Criminal Justice & African American Studies College of Arts & Sciences
Dr. Deena Isom Scott is an Assistant Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice and African American Studies
in the 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.
Dr. Michael Myrick
Chemistry and Biochemistry College of Arts & Sciences
Dr. Michael Myrick is a Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry in the College of Arts
& Sciences. He upgraded chemistry labs with rigorous hands-on experiments and implemented
integrative learning in Physical Chemistry Laboratory courses. Dr. Myrick also integrated
online work, web tutorials and the flipped classroom instructional strategy in his
courses.
Dr. Charles Schumpert
Biological Sciences College of Arts & Sciences
Dr. Charles Schumpert is an Instructor and Lab Coordinator in the Department of Biological Sciences in the
College of Arts and Sciences. He integrated 360° video and virtual reality into his
courses. He utilized an engaging approach to teach challenging materials. Dr. Schumpert
has incorporated active learning strategies, use of music videos and Universal Design
for Learning strategies in his classrooms.
Dr. Hayden Smith
Criminology and Criminal Justice College of Arts & Sciences
Dr. Hayden Smith is an Associate Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice in the College of Arts
and Sciences. He successfully implemented online coursework (360° videos) to demonstrate
difficult concepts. Dr. Smith has also utilized active learning strategies and experiential
learning techniques in his courses.
Dr. David Weil
Graduate Studies School of Medicine
Dr. David Weilis an Associate Program Director and the Director of Didactic Education within the
Department of Graduate Studies at the School of Medicine. Dr. Weil implemented team-based
learning approaches in his courses. He is committed to flipped learning and designed
assessments based on stressful real-world cases.
Palmetto College
Dr. Maggie Aziz
Sociology USC Union
Dr. Maggie Aziz is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at USC Union and serves as director of the
Student Academic Success Center. She is the organizer of many events including Student
Academic Workshops, the National Custodial Worker Day Fundraiser and Luncheon, and
the Blood Connection Blood Drive. She has been a long-time Magellan Scholar reviewer
and the Lead Principal Investigator in the Student Support Services Program Grant
Proposal.
Fran Gardner
Art USC Lancaster
Fran Gardner is a Professor of Art and Art History at USC Lancaster and serves as the Humanities
Division Chair. Her work focuses on women’s voices, issues, and opportunities as
they are heard and experienced in the current cultural landscape. She is sought out
for her expertise in writing, curating, and speaking on contemporary art.
Dr. Sarah Hunt Sellhorst
Exercise Science USC Lancaster
Dr. Sarah Hunt Sellhorst is a Professor of Exercise Science at USC Lancaster and serves as the Chair of the
Math, Science, Nursing, and Public Health Division. Dedicated and committed to her
students and their academic success, she imparts new knowledge to her students with
a delivery that instills the love and joy that she has for her craft.
UofSC Columbia Faculty Awards
Dr. Linda Hazlett
Epidemiology Arnold School of Public Health
Dr. Linda Hazlettis a Clinical Associate Professor and the Graduate Director for Epidemiology in the
Arnold School of Public Health. Dr. Hazlett is the Department of Epidemiology and
Biostatistics’ resident expert on academic integrity, and with her open-door policy,
students are always free to stop by. She is a tireless advocate for students who is
concerned about their overall well-being in addition to their training and professional
development.
Meredith McNeice
Undergraduate Programs Darla Moore School of Business
Meredith McNeiceis an advisor in the Darla Moore School of Business. She approaches her role as an
advisor with an open mind and a positive attitude with the hope that she will help
a student each and every day. One of her goals is to help make students feel like
our university is smaller by providing individualized help and attention.
Dr. Aaron Vannucci
Chemistry & Biochemistry College of Arts & Sciences
Dr. Aaron Vannucciis an Assistant Professor for the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry in the
College of Arts & Sciences. His advising philosophy is based on developing a collaboration
between the student and him. Simply put he believes that his role as an advisor is
not to tell students what to do, but to guide and to teach the students how they can
achieve their academic and career goals. He believes that each student is unique and
their academic situations and goals are constantly evolving.
Dr. Jeff Hall
Family and Preventive Medicine School of Medicine
Dr. Jeff Hallis a Clinical Associate Professor of Family & Preventive Medicine at the School of
Medicine-Columbia. When Dr. Hall develops curricula and experiences for learners,
the words collaborative and experiential come up frequently. He tells his students
they will need to work together, and they will need to do stuff. He believes that
hands on educational sessions provide a deeper and more durable understanding than
the most effective lecturers. Additionally, he finds that his work with students often
teaches them to look at the whole patient and their environment and then find ways
to effectively deliver needed interventions.
Dr. Andrew Sides
Internal Medicine School of Medicine
Dr. Andrew Sidesis a Clinical Associate Professor of Internal Medicine at the School of Medicine-Columbia.
Described as an innovative teacher, incorporating new methods, modern technology,
and accessible approaches to deliver content to the learners. He is strong believer
in gamification. Additionally, Dr. Sides created a radiology learning game that many
of his students have really enjoyed and rated as helpful. He feels the most important
aspect for medical students at this early stage of training is to model the behavior
we want from them in their interactions with patients, families, and multidisciplinary
medical teams.
Dr. Andrew Greytak
Chemistry & Biochemistry College of Arts & Sciences
Dr. Andrew Greytakis an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry in the College
of Arts & Sciences. His first principle as a teacher is to convey to students that
he really cares about their success. He prepares handouts and guides that go beyond
what’s found in textbooks to help the students prepare. He begins each lecture with
slides highlighting an aspect of Chemistry in the news or everyday life, from nuclear
waste storage to electric cars to smelting of iron. He tells them about his research
or research elsewhere at UofSC, to help illustrate how the concepts they are discussing
in class are being applied in the real world.
Dr. Anna Swartwood House
School of Visual Art & Design College of Arts & Sciences
Dr. Anna House is an Assistant Professor of Art History for the School of Visual Art & Design in the
College of Arts & Sciences. Her teaching philosophy is “knowledge is constructed not
passively received.” One of the most effective ways to teach art history is to show
its continuing relevance in the present day. One way Dr. House makes teaching “stick”
is to ask students to research and then teach some aspect of the course material.
Her students are also asked to collaborate to create study guides and possible essay
questions for exams.
Mary Robinson
School of Visual Art & Design College of Arts & Sciences
Mary Robinsonis a Professor of Studio Art for the School of Visual Art and Design in the College
of Arts & Sciences. She believes that through teaching, learning, mentoring, and setting
an example as a practicing artist, she encourages students to view themselves as artists
and citizens of a broader community locally and globally. Additionally, she provides
her students with the opportunity to recognize what is effective in their own work
as well as the work of others and how to improve.
Dr. Wendy Valerio
Music Education School of Music
Dr. Wendy Valeriois a Professor of Music Education in the School of Music. Her teaching careers is
guided by the philosophy of “modeling and supporting professionalism, scholarship,
and active music making practices.” As an early childhood/elementary music development
specialist who researches human music development and learning through social music
interaction, she has observed that children of all ages learn music and seem to enjoy
music, by engaging musically rather than being taught music. She believes that music
is a birth right of each human being and everyone in her class has music learning
potential.
Dr. Michael A. Matthews
Chemical Engineering & Biomedical Engineering College of Engineering & Computing
Dr. Michael Matthews is the Senior Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Education for the College of
Engineering and Computing. He has demonstrated excellence and innovation in graduate
teaching for the College of Engineering and Computing. Dr. Matthews has implemented
courses that use a formal education model to train graduate students in critical reading,
information literacy, publishing and preparing for the post-graduate school workplace.
Additionally, he mentors candidates for national graduate scholarships.
Dr. Lara Lomicka Anderson
Languages, Literatures and Cultures College of Arts and Sciences
Dr. Lara Lomicka Anderson is a Professor in the Department Languages, Literature and Cultures in the College
of Arts and Sciences and Faculty Principal of Preston College. Her passion for her
work and commitment to her position enriches the campus learning experiences for students
in various ways. Dr. Lomicka Anderson is known to invite students to her family dinners
and has an unprecedented open door policy and an equally impressive engagement in
student activities. She mentors hundreds of residential students every year and encourages
students' novelty, creativity, and leadership. She supports first year students, first
generation students and those with academic challenges. The opportunities and guidance
she provides help students to learn from experiences and cultivates new student leaders.
Dr. Jim F. Thrasher
Health Promotion, Education and Behavior Arnold School of Public Health
Dr. James Thrashercurrently serves as the Deputy Director of Global Health Initiatives for the Arnold
School of Public Health and as Co-Chair of the Doctoral Committee for Health Promotion,
Education, and Behavior Department. Dr. Thrasher’s nationally and internationally
renowned research focuses on how media and policies influence tobacco- and nutrition-related
perceptions and behaviors. He has a distinguished record of mentorship, student research
training, and professional/community service. Dr. Thrasher is often invited to lead
and guide national and international advisory and policy committees and in 2016 received
the WHO’s World No Tobacco Day Award.
Dr. Thomas Brown
History College of Arts & Sciences
Dr. Thomas Brownis a Professor of History in the College of Arts & Sciences. His colleagues describe
him as a very talented, imaginative historian who works in more than one field, including,
legal history, biography, and cultural history. He has the research depth and historian’s
range to make history open to broad readership that can be easily digested. Dr. Brown’s
scholarship and publication record have been pivotal in building the stellar scholarly
reputation of the University of South Carolina Department of History.
Dr. Qi Wang
Mathematics College of Arts & Sciences
Dr. Qi Wangis a Professor in the Mathematics Department with the College of Arts & Sciences.
He is a well-known modeler with deep knowledge in various formalisms of non-equilibrium
phenomena. His theories have been used to study flows of liquid crystal polymers of
nematic, cholesteric, smectic and biaxial phases in various geometries and flow conditions,
biofilms, cytoplasm and active cells. Dr. Wang has published 169 Journal papers and
eight conference papers, and edited four special issues/books. He has given invited
talks to over 117 national and international meetings, and colloquium/seminar talks
at 88 other institutes.
Dr. Anthony Nyberg
Management Darla Moore School of Business
Dr. Anthony Nyberga Professor and Academic Director for the Management Department within the Darla Moore
School of Business. His published work can be categorized in two primary research
programs embedded in a human capital framework: improving understanding of how and
why turnover occurs and affects organizations and furthering our understanding about
how and why employee rewards influence organizational outcomes. Dr. Nyberg has published
23 peer-reviewed publications in top management and applied psychology journals, one
book, 13 book chapters, and a large number of scholarly conference presentations.
He is an enthusiastic cultural ambassador and represents the University in an exemplary
manner.
Dr. Minuette Floyd
School of Visual Art & Design College of Arts & Sciences
Dr. Minuette Floydis a Professor in the School of Visual Art & Design in the College of Arts & Sciences.
Her service activities include serving on educational advisory boards such as McKissick
Museum and the Columbia Museum of Art. Dr. Floyd is a member of the Arts in the Basic
Curriculum Steering Committee, sponsored by the State Department of Education, which
provides art-based workshops for school districts across the state and judges student
exhibition at the SC State Fair. She believes that service opportunities will result
in continued quality experiences for students that rests in discovery, creative inquiry,
and engage citizenship.
Dr. Chuanbing Tang
Chemistry & Biochemistry College of Arts & Sciences
Dr. Chuanbing Tanga Professor of Chemistry & Biochemistry and a College of Arts and Sciences Distinguished
Professor. He has made outstanding contributions to research and served the profession
through his educational efforts and leadership. His research addresses most important
issues of sustainability: eco-friendly chemicals and materials, health and energy.
Dr. Tang has published more than 140 journal articles, one book and five book chapters
on basic research. The translational impact of his innovative research is evidenced
by his 14 patents. He is a frequent speaker for over 150 invited talks and keynote
speeches. While at UofSC, he has been awarded about $10 million in funds and research
grants.
Dr. David Greven
English College of Arts & Sciences
Dr. David Grevenis a Professor of English, Language and Literature in the College of Arts & Sciences.
He has published 10 books since 2005. His research crosses film/media and gender/sexuality
studies, and nineteenth-century American literature. What lends true distinction to
this outpouring research is the high quality of his work, with publications in top
academic journals and university presses, including a recent book on Hitchcock published
by Oxford University Press.
Dr. August Grant
School of Journalism and Mass Communications College of Information & Communications
Dr. August Grantis the Director of the Center for Teaching Excellence and the J. Rion McKissick Professor
of Journalism in the School of Journalism and Mass Communications. As chair of the
UofSC Faculty Senate in 2015, his leadership efforts resulted in a set of five recommendations
from the Office of the Provost designed to address perceived inequities affecting
non-tenure track faculty. This effort ultimately led to the extension of voting rights
for non-tenure track faculty on all matters except promotion and tenure. His scholarly output includes 25 edited or authored books and more than 25 refereed
journal articles, and a variety of other publications.
Dr. Donna A. Chen
Chemistry & Biochemistry College of Arts & Sciences
Dr. Donna Chenis a Professor in the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department in the College of Arts
& Sciences. Dr. Chen’s research is in the area of materials physical chemistry, and
her work focuses on understanding surface chemistry at the atomic and molecular level.
Dr. Chen is among the top scientists in the field of surface science, and her research
program involves understanding chemical reactions on catalytically active surfaces
at the atomic and molecular scale. Her key contributions to the undergraduate chemistry
program have been in the development of problem-solving and active-learning approaches
for teaching physical chemistry. Additionally, she has almost single-handedly led
the effort to create a new set of courses for chemistry majors so that classes for
majors and non-majors can be separated and tailored to the needs of each group of
students. Due to her efforts, we now have major courses for almost all of the required
100-300 level courses in chemistry.
Dr. Timothy M. James
History USC Beaufort
Dr. Timothy James is an Assistant Professor of History of USC Beaufort. Dr. James has prepared our History
majors to perform competitively among the national reference group, with percentile
scores in the Latin American History section consistently at or near the highest among
History subfields at USCB. He has served on some of the most active university committees
at USCB, three of which he chaired (QEP Steering Committee, Academic Steering Committee,
and Honors Steering Committee). His scholarly achievements have attracted requests
to write book reviews in scholarly journals, as well as to chair panels at professional
conferences. Dr. James has well-represented USCB by presenting his research at major
conferences and symposia, including four out of the last five annual meetings of the
American Historical Association (the largest professional organization representing
historians in all fields and all professions).
Dr. Amit Almor
Psychology College of Arts & Sciences
Dr. Amit Almor is an Associate Professor of Psychology and Director of the Experimental Psychology Graduate
Program in the College of Arts & Sciences. Dr. Almor is devoted not simply to effective
classroom teaching but mentoring individual students to fulfill their own potential
and become their best selves. Dr. Almor takes much enjoyment out of getting the best
work in his students and is invested in the success of his students. Also, his teaching
and research record is distinguished, and he frequently interacts with undergraduates
in courses related to cognition and language, as well as through his extensive mentoring
undergraduate research and independent study. Dr. Almor challenges students to better
understand the human condition and facets of cognition such as and reasoning, that
allows us to study ourselves. Dr. Almor cares about his students actually learning.
He makes his students think critically. He requires his students to take what he teaches
and apply it in real world scenarios.
Challenge the conventional. Create the exceptional. No Limits.
