UW-Stout honors eight faculty, instructional staff with teaching honors

Eight members of UW-Stout's faculty and instructional staff have been honored for their outstanding work and efforts during the 2023-24 academic year.

Six employees received the Outstanding Teacher award and two received the Outstanding Graduate Faculty award Aug. 26 at the Engagement Session and Celebration that kicked off the 2024-25 academic year. Two other faculty members have been recognized by the Universities of Wisconsin.

"The start of the academic year provides a wonderful opportunity to celebrate our faculty and instructional academic staff as they prepare for their dynamic work with students," said Glendalí Rodríguez, provost and vice chancellor for Academic Affairs.

The Outstanding Teacher award recognizes a commitment to excellence and the university community. Recipients and their departments are:

• ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Mary Climes, assistant professor, visual and performing arts
• Seth Dutter, professor, mathematics, statistics and computer science
• Kathryn Hamilton, professor, psychology
• Nicole Hayes, assistant professor, biology
• Mackenzie Krzmarzick, lecturer, English, philosophy and communication studies
• Brenda Puck, senior lecturer, engineering and technology

The university's two colleges, Arts and Human Sciences; and Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Management, coordinate the selection of their honorees via an internal process.

The Outstanding Graduate Faculty award recognizes outstanding commitment, enthusiasm and assistance to the graduate student community. The Graduate Studiesaward is based on student feedback.

The recipients are:

• Kelly Droege, assistant professor, operations and management
• Pranabendu Mitra, associate professor, kinesiology, health, food and nutritional sciences

The eight recipients received a commemorative award, a congratulatory memo from Rodríguez and were recognized by Chancellor Katherine Frank during the academic year opening event at the Memorial Student Center.

Fall semester classes begin Wednesday, Sept. 4.

Professor thrives on supporting student success

Hamilton is beginning her 17th year teaching at UW-Stout. "I love working with the students inside and outside of the classroom and seeing their growth until graduation," she said.

"In addition to teaching my classes, I've had the great opportunity to work with students on research, help students to prepare for life after graduation through academic advisement and support a student organization. In all of these ways, I have gotten to see students grow and change, and it's so much fun."

She challenges herself each year to improve.

"We are all a work in progress. I'm always tinkering with my courses and exploring different ideas for how to approach teaching, so I can learn how to be a better teacher, meet the needs of the students and encourage them to grow," Hamilton said.

Hamilton is chair of the psychology department. UW-Stout has a Bachelor of Science program in psychologyoffered on campus and online; and a Master of Science in applied industrial/organizational psychology.

Wisconsin Teaching Fellows and Scholars

Two UW-Stout faculty have been honored by the Universities of Wisconsin.

Kate Liu, assistant professor in the engineering and technology department, and Lauren Johnson, assistant professor in the English, philosophy and communication studies department, have been named 2024-25 Wisconsin Teaching Fellows and Scholars.

The professional and instructional development program provides yearlong programming and funding to support faculty from across the UW as part of a "commitment to ensuring that all students have the opportunity to learn, succeed and thrive in our classrooms," according to the program.

In fall 2023, UW-Stout had 222 faculty and 182 instructional academic staff.

In 2021, UW-Stout implemented its FOCUS2030strategic plan built around five key goals. One of the goals is employee success, with a focus on fostering an equitable environment that invests in, supports, encourages and values diverse faculty and staff development opportunities.

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