News Releases

Two School of Business professors receive distinguished nomination

Monday, January 10, 2010

BY AUSTIN FALLEY

KU School of Business professors Audra Boone and Kissan Joseph have been nominated for the Byron T. Schutz Award for Excellence in Teaching, one of the Chancellor's Distinguished Teaching Awards.

"The nomination validates the efforts I'm making in the classroom," Audra Boone, associate professor of finance, said. "The materials I teach and the delivery methods I employ are recognized as successfully providing a quality educational experience for my students, which is something I strive to achieve every semester."

Nominations are based on student feedback from a senior survey and recommendations from a randomly selected group of students from fall semester. The nominated professors understand the hectic lives of their students and try to make every class an important educational experience.

"Every week has a theme to reduce cognitive load," Kissan Joseph, associate professor of marketing, said. "Readings and cases on the theme make learning efficient and productive. I often include issues and insights from the popular press, invite guest speakers and offer experiential learning activities such as case competitions and simulations."

The award recognizes educators for their innovative teaching practices, depth of student understanding, teaching development and dedication to both students and the teaching profession. The award celebrates unique contributions to students and The University of Kansas by exceptional educators.

"One of the best things about working in the Business School is the tremendous effort that the faculty exerts to make sure the educational experience for our students is rigorous, complete and integrated across all of their classes," Boone said. "I speak regularly with my colleagues to make sure we're all delivering a consistent message and that the material being taught in my class meshes well with the rest of the course curriculum, striking the right balance of reinforcement through repetition and fresh new ideas presented in each class."

Nominees are judged on a recommendation letter from a faculty peer, a collection of the nominee's teaching materials and a personal statement of the nominee's teaching philosophy. The Byron T. Schutz Award for Excellence in Teaching recipients will be announced in late spring and honored at Commencement.

"Teaching at KU is truly a team effort, and I'm proud to be a part of it," Boone said.