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LAWRENCE -- The "Surprise Patrol" gave out Kemper Awards for teaching excellence today to five more unsuspecting professors at the University of Kansas.
Chancellor Robert Hemenway and Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost David Shulenburger led the patrol, which so far has distributed 17 of the awards. Each award is worth $5,000.
In all, 20 professors will be honored and $100,000 distributed with Kemper Awards this year. The remaining three professors will be surprised Tuesday, Aug. 27, and Wednesday, Aug. 28.
The W.T. Kemper Fellowships for Teaching Excellence recognize outstanding teachers and advisers at KU as determined by a seven-member selection committee. Now in the seventh year of a 10-year program, the awards were established by a $500,000 fund from the William T. Kemper Foundation-Commerce Bank, Trustee, and $500,000 in matching funds from the KU Endowment Association.
Today's winners are:
Martin B. Dickinson, professor of law
Martin Dickinson has specialized in teaching estate planning and taxation since 1971. Dickinson's command of his material and ability to help students understand it have earned this former dean several teaching awards, awards for student counseling, and an extraordinary number of student evaluations and comments from alumni who name him as their favorite and most highly respected professor.
Thomas Pazdernik, professor of pharmacology at the KU Medical Center
Tom Pazdernik prides himself on producing lifelong learners. His fellow doctors commend him for his diligence in developing courses that teach the material in the most efficient and effective way, for attending all lectures, for shaping each exam to fit the exact content of each semester and for being so readily available to students throughout the semester.
Suzanne Rice, associate professor in the School of Education
Suzanne Rice teaches courses primarily on the philosophy of education at the graduate level. Her students praise her adeptness and thoroughness at advising and mentoring so many students outside of the classroom, as well as her challenging Socratic method of conducting in-class discussion that demands profound reflection. Colleagues remark that her students can draw on the knowledge gained in her course to supplement their learning in other courses and deepen their level of understanding.
Mark Richter, associate professor of molecular biosciences
Mark Richter prides himself not only on teaching in the classroom but also on giving students one-on-one instruction in the lab, preparing them to go on to highly successful careers of their own. Richter's reputation among students as a teacher is so outstanding that students at the KU Medical School often commute to take his introductory biochemistry course when it is offered in the summer.
Peter Ukpokodu, professor and chair of the Department of African and African-American Studies and associate professor of theatre and film
Peter Ukpokodu's (ook-poe-KOH-doo) courses are highly popular and well respected among students. Peers remark that he negotiates delicate and complex issues with grace, and they say that he stands with the very best in terms of pedagological excellence. Always one to do his very best to enrich the lives of others and to strengthen their appreciation of shared humanity, Ukpokodu also participates in a number of outreach programs in the community.
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