Alumni Outstanding Teaching Award

The Alumni Outstanding Teaching Awards were established in 1997 to honor distinguished teaching in the classroom. Peer committees in UNO colleges chose recipients, each of whom receives a $2,000 award and a commemorative plaque. With the 2022 awards, the association will have issued $239,000 through the program.

UNO ALUMNI OUTSTANDING TEACHING AWARDS 2022


From left: Steven L. Williams, Bede A. Bolin, Anthony Flott, Adam Weaver, Sandra Rodrîguez-Arroyo, Chancellor Joanne Li, George Hunt, Erin Bass and P. Roxanne Kellar, Ph.D.

Erin Bass, Management, College of Business Administration

Danielle Battisti, History, College of Arts and Sciences

Bede Bolin, Gerontology, College of Public Affairs & Community Service

Kate Cooper, Interdisciplinary Informatics, College of Information Science & Technology

George Hunt, Civil & Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering

Roxi Kellar, Biology, College of Arts and Sciences

Sandra Rodriguez-Arroyo, Teacher Education, College of Health and Human Sciences

Adam Weaver, Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences

Steven Williams, Theatre, Communication, College of Fine Arts and Media

 

A. Erin Bass, Ph.D., Management
An associate professor in the Department of Management and the James R. Schumacher Chair of Ethics, Erin Bass’ teaching and research interests center on the intersection of strategy, leadership, and ethics. She has published numerous research articles and case studies in this area, demonstrating her aptitude toward generating new knowledge that can be readily used in the classroom. Many of her classes involve service learning projects, and she and her students have collaborated with several local and national organizations including Heart Heroes, Omaha Home for Boys, and No More Empty Pots. She currently leads a project on workforce development that syncs the skills and abilities of business students with careers in homeland security. She teaches in the undergraduate, graduate, and executive programs in the College of Business Administration and co-leads the award-winning Capstone Cup, a semester-long case competition among UNO business students.

Dr. Danielle Battisti, History
Dr. Danielle Battisti is an Associate Professor of history at UNO. She previously served as the Graduate Program Chair and is the current Chair for the Department of History.  She was instrumental in the creation of an online MA degree in History and Government.  Dr. Battisti also has a notable record of working with successful graduate students and placing them in history-related professions or Ph.D. programs.

Bede A. Bolin, LTC(R), MS, MA, Gerontology
Bede’s primary focus is the gerontological education of the UNL students with the additional focus as the faculty advisor to those students.  Secondarily, focused on the marketing and recruiting of students for the gerontology minor and/or certificate programs.  Bede is also the program coordinator for the gerontology practicum and the faculty advisor for the gerontology club.

Kathryn M. Cooper, Ph.D., School of Interdisciplinary Informatics
Dr. Kathryn (Kate) M. Cooper joined the School of Interdisciplinary Informatics at UNO in 2015 and has been a member of the UNO Bioinformatics Research group since September 2005. Her research has focused on application of network science to biomedical data; including network modeling of gene expression data can be functionally interpreted to further understand cellular systems. She has also worked work on developing structural filters in high performance computing environments for analysis of large biological networks; this work explores the relationship between known graph theoretic properties and potential function in protein-protein interaction networks as well as correlation networks. She has also collaborated on projects exploring how graphs can be effective tools for modeling systems in broader areas of biomedical and health informatics, such as the spread of infectious disease and the modeling co-occurrence of terms in food products labels. Her current research interests are exploring the impact of diet on the microbiome for prevention of disease using bioinformatics and consumer health informatics approaches.

George A. Hunt, Ph.D., PE, Civil & Environmental Engineering
Dr. Hunt is an Associate Professor of Practice in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and is a licensed professional engineer in Nebraska and Iowa.  Dr. Hunt teaches several classes in the curriculum including the first-year introductory course, the senior capstone course, and water resources courses.  He used project based and serviced based learning in the courses he teaches.  He also advises over 100 undergraduate students.  He is active in professional organizations; he is also president elect of the Nebraska Water Environmental Association.

P. Roxanne Kellar, Ph.D., Biology
Dr. Kellar is a botanist who encourages students to explore the natural world to find the interesting plant species and morphological characters that may not be obvious at first glance. With this goal in mind, she teaches a variety of courses that appeal to students with a broad range of interests. In her research lab, she mentors both undergraduate and graduate students in the field, the lab, the herbarium, and on the computer. Her research places plant species on the tree of life to aid in conservation, biodiversity studies, and invasive species management.

Dr. Sandra Rodríguez-Arroyo, Teacher Education
Dr. Sandra Rodríguez-Arroyo’s primary focus is English as a Second Language (ESL) and Bilingual Education. Dr. Rodríguez-Arroyo directs UNO’s undergraduate and graduate ESL and Bilingual teacher education programs. Dr. Rodríguez-Arroyo collaborates with Omaha Public Schools Dual Language program to prepare teachers with the latest research and practices in the field. Additionally, Dr. Rodríguez-Arroyo is the faculty liaison for Metro Area Teachers of English Language Learners (MATELLS). This professional network provides learning and collaboration opportunities for ESL educators in the Omaha Metro Area.

Adam D. Weaver, Ph.D., Psychology
Dr. Weaver is an Associate Professor in the UNO School Psychology graduate training program, helping to prepare graduates to meet the needs of PK-12 students with academic, social-emotional, or behavioral concerns in our public schools. Dr. Weaver teaches the behavioral sequence of courses in the School Psychology program of study.

Steven L. Williams, Theatre
Steven L. Williams' primary focus is on advanced technology in theatre, including automated lighting, digital rendering and modeling, and the impact of theatrical design in non-theatrical venues.  Mr. Williams is the Coordinator of Theatre and the Head of Design and Production.


VIEW ALL UNO ALUMNI OUTSTANDING TEACHING AWARD RECIPIENTS