KU News Release

Public administration professor is the latest Kemper winner

LAWRENCE — On Wednesday evening, the University of Kansas surprise patrol gave a $5,000 Kemper Fellowship for Teaching Excellence to Charles Epp, associate professor of public administration. Kemper fellowships are given in recognition of faculty members’ excellence in teaching and advising.

So far, 15 professors have received Kemper fellowships. Twenty professors in all will be honored and $100,000 distributed. The surprise patrol will give out the final Lawrence campus award this afternoon. Four professors at the KU Medical Center will receive Kemper fellowships on a later date.

The fellowships recognize outstanding teachers and advisers at KU as determined by a seven-member selection committee. Now in their 12th year, the awards are supported by $650,000 in gifts from the William T. Kemper Foundation (Commerce Bank, trustee) and $650,000 in matching funds from KU Endowment.

The William T. Kemper Foundation was established in 1989 after the death of the Kansas City, Mo., banking executive and civic leader. The foundation supports Midwest communities and concentrates on initiatives in education, health and human services, civic improvements and the arts.

More about yesterday’s winner:

Charles Epp, associate professor of public administration
Charles Epp constantly challenges himself to be a better teacher. “I’m now working to more fully challenge students to really learn and grow — to understand the material in depth and to see their learning as a key part of their personal development.” His dedication to excellence inspires those around him. His colleagues who nominated him for the award said, “His approach has improved the quality of teaching across our department and, we believe, sets the standard for excellence in teaching across the profession. He makes us all think differently about how to make our teaching better, and his success provides methods, tools and inspiration in support of that goal.”

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