[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding=”0px|||||”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding=”||0px|||” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n
The winners of the UNC Board of Governors Excellence in Teaching Award (BOG), the\u00a0Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching Award (CDTA), and\u00a0the Innovative Scholar Award (ISA) were announced at this year\u2019s Faculty and Staff Excellence Awards Ceremony on April 28.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” column_structure=”3_5,2_5″ min_height=”242.1px” custom_padding=”||0px|||” custom_margin=”-37px|auto|-60px|auto||”][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n While Chancellor Brown and Provost Starnes handed out many more awards\u00a0(congrats to everyone who got honored), these three\u00a0awards\u00a0are coordinated by the Coulter Faculty\u00a0Commons,\u00a0and we want to\u00a0take the opportunity to\u00a0give a special shoutout to\u00a0both the finalists and\u00a0winners.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”2_5″ _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/cfc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/87\/2026\/04\/Congrats-2026-Award-Winners-1024×576.png” _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” alt=”Coulter Faculty Commons flyer stating %22Congrats, Award Winners! UNC Board of Governors Excellence in Teaching Award, Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching Award, Innovative Scholar Award.%22 ” title_text=”Congrats 2026 Award Winners” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” type=”4_4″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n Finalists: Brian Byrd, Kim Hall, Yang Zhang<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n We congratulate\u00a0<\/span>Dr. Brian Byrd<\/span><\/b>, professor in the Environmental Health Sciences program,\u00a0this year\u2019s recipient of the UNC Board of Governors Excellence in Teaching Award.\u00a0Throughout his eighteen years at WCU, Dr. Byrd has consistently\u00a0demonstrated\u00a0an unwavering\u00a0commitment to teaching, scholarship, and service.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n His efforts have empowered\u00a0numerous\u00a0cohorts of students to discover their life purposes,\u00a0acquire\u00a0employable skills, pursue graduate degrees, and contribute positively to our region and state.\u00a0Likely due to\u00a0his own academic journey, Dr. Byrd is highly motivated to provide students with opportunities to help them succeed. His support is clearly appreciated and is reflected in letters of support from his former students. Dr. Byrd encourages students to\u00a0explore with\u00a0curiosity, trust their creativity, collaborate globally, and present their work at academic conferences. In fact, he\u00a0actually had\u00a0his interview for the BOG award virtually because he was with students presenting at a professional conference.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Dr. Byrd\u2019s\u00a0passion, dedication, and commitment to making a positive difference align perfectly with the values this award celebrates.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Finalists: Sarah Jackson, Emily Naser-Hall, Jenna Powers<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Congratulations to\u00a0<\/span>Dr. Emily Naser-Hall<\/span><\/b>, Assistant Professor of Film and Media Studies and Graduate Program Director in the Department of English Studies,\u00a0who\u00a0was\u00a0selected as this year\u2019s recipient of the Chancellor\u2019s Distinguished Teaching Award.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Dr. Naser-Hall is recognized for her engaging, inclusive, and student-centered teaching. Student feedback consistently highlights her ability to foster a supportive and dynamic classroom environment where individuals feel respected, encouraged to participate, and challenged to think critically. Her interactive approach incorporates discussion, humor, and active learning, and helps sustain student engagement and deepen understanding, even when course material is complex.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The committee was particularly impressed by her intentional and reflective approach to teaching. She meaningfully incorporates student feedback into course design, adapts materials to enhance learning, and employs evidence-based pedagogical practices such as scaffolding and active learning. Her teaching encourages students to explore the cultural and political dimensions of film and media, while fostering empathy by treating students as active collaborators in the learning process. Dr. Naser-Hall\u2019s use of \u201cproductive confusion\u201d to stimulate curiosity and intellectual engagement further reflects her thoughtful and innovative approach to teaching.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Taken together, these qualities exemplify the spirit of the Chancellor\u2019s Distinguished Teaching Award, and committee members agreed that Dr. Naser-Hall is highly deserving of this recognition.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Finalists: Chad Hallyburton, Beth Harmer, Mindy Weathers & Meghan Gangel<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n We\u00a0congratulate\u00a0<\/span>Dr. Beth Harmer<\/span><\/b>\u00a0as the recipient of the 2026 Innovative Scholarship Award.\u00a0Dr.\u00a0Harmer’s research exemplifies the best of\u00a0engaged,\u00a0community-centered\u00a0scholarship.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Her work directly addresses two of the most pressing challenges facing Western North Carolina: the opioid epidemic and critical workforce shortages in behavioral health services.\u00a0At the heart of her efforts is Project AWE (Addiction Workforce Education), a learning initiative housed at WCU\u00a0that trains peer support specialists and future certified alcohol and drug counselors to strengthen substance use recovery services across the region. Her Scholarship of Application stands as a model for how faculty research can translate directly into improved outcomes for the people of Western North Carolina.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n While the\u00a0CFC coordinates the process for the selection of these three awards, we\u00a0would like to extend our sincere thanks to the dedicated work of the 2025-26 committees:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n UNC Board of Governors Excellence in Teaching Award committee<\/span><\/b>:\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Alvin Malesky (chair),\u202fChanna De Silva (last year\u2019s winner and next year\u2019s committee\u00a0chair),\u202fHannah\u202fBuala,\u202fJoy Bowers-Campbell, Ethan Cheng,\u202fIsaiah\u202fFeken, James Hogan, Luke\u202fManget, Minu Thomas,\u202fand Paul Yanik.\u00a0CFC ex-officio member: Anabel Livengood.\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching Award committee:<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Faculty members included\u00a0Andy Hansen (chair),\u00a0Sean Mulholland,\u00a0Lisen Roberts,\u00a0Minu Thomas,\u00a0Mona Torabi,\u00a0and Ike Webster. Student members included\u00a0Zachary\u00a0Curfiss, Destina Erdem,\u00a0Bipana\u00a0Bohori,\u00a0Morgan Harshaw, Mason Parlier,\u00a0and\u00a0Henrietta Sackey.\u00a0CFC ex-officio member: April Tallant.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Innovative Scholar Award committee:\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Francine Sheppard (chair),\u00a0Kia\u00a0Alimohammadirokni,\u00a0Georgia Ennis,\u00a0Kloo Hansen,\u00a0Steve Kniss,\u00a0Kofi\u00a0Lomotey,\u00a0Lori Oxford,\u00a0Joe Sun,\u00a0Elisabeth Wallace.\u00a0CFC ex-officio member: Scott Seagle.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We can finally spill the tea with you!\u00a0\u00a0 The winners of the UNC Board of Governors Excellence in Teaching Award (BOG), the\u00a0Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching Award (CDTA), and\u00a0the Innovative Scholar Award […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3390,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[57,727,728],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25075","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","category-campus-community-connections","category-teaching-award"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":22015,"url":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/cfc\/blog\/2025\/01\/15\/etle-spring-2025\/","url_meta":{"origin":25075,"position":0},"title":"ETLE – Spring 2025","author":"Anabel Livengood","date":"January 15, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"","rel":"","context":"In "AI"","block_context":{"text":"AI","link":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/cfc\/blog\/category\/ai\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"QR code to registration form.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/cfc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/87\/2025\/01\/ETLE-2025-reg-SV_9ohl1hG2sh0Hp2e-qrcode.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":21131,"url":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/cfc\/blog\/2023\/02\/24\/summer-institute-for-teaching-learning-sitl-2023\/","url_meta":{"origin":25075,"position":1},"title":"Summer Institute for Teaching & Learning (SITL) 2023","author":"","date":"February 24, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/cfc\/blog\/category\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/cfc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/87\/2023\/02\/Bradshaw.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":16341,"url":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/cfc\/blog\/2020\/08\/21\/call-for-faculty-nominations-board-of-governors-excellence-in-teaching-award\/","url_meta":{"origin":25075,"position":2},"title":"Call for Faculty Nominations – Board of Governors Excellence in Teaching Award","author":"Terry Pollard","date":"August 21, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Calls are now open for the 2020-2021 WCU Board of Governors award for Excellence in Teaching, the university\u2019s most esteemed teaching award. The UNC system-level award was established in 1993 to recognize our finest teaching at each of our universities. Deans, faculty, and alumni may make a nomination through completion\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/cfc\/blog\/category\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":24321,"url":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/cfc\/blog\/2026\/02\/02\/2026-unc-bog-award-finalists\/","url_meta":{"origin":25075,"position":3},"title":"2026 UNC Board of Governors Excellence in Teaching Award Finalists","author":"Anabel Livengood","date":"February 2, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/cfc\/blog\/category\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":20638,"url":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/cfc\/blog\/2022\/04\/20\/summer-institute-for-teaching-learning-sitl\/","url_meta":{"origin":25075,"position":4},"title":"Summer Institute for Teaching & Learning (SITL)","author":"","date":"April 20, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"","rel":"","context":"In "Active Learning"","block_context":{"text":"Active Learning","link":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/cfc\/blog\/category\/active-learning\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"QRQ code to register for SITL","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/cfc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/87\/2022\/03\/SV_1FX4RGQqj1AjF54-qrcode.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":23427,"url":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/cfc\/blog\/2025\/07\/30\/eot-september-cohort\/","url_meta":{"origin":25075,"position":5},"title":"Excellence in Online Teaching (EOT) Cohort Starts September 2","author":"Anabel Livengood","date":"July 30, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/cfc\/blog\/category\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/cfc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25075","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/cfc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/cfc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/cfc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3390"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/cfc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25075"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/cfc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25075\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25082,"href":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/cfc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25075\/revisions\/25082"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/cfc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25075"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/cfc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25075"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/cfc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25075"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}UNC Board of Governors Excellence in Teaching Award<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n
Chancellor\u2019s Distinguished Teaching Award\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n
Innovative Scholarship Award<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n
Thank you!<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n