Winners of the Dr. Ann and Charles Horak III Teaching Excellence Endowment Award for 2020!

The Dr. Ann and Charles Horak III Teaching Excellence Endowment Award was established to reward lecturers and other part-time or full-time contingent faculty who dedicate their time and talents to the art of teaching but who are rarely adequately compensated financially or given pathways to advancement through tenure and promotion. This annual award is given to faculty who have demonstrated a commitment to excellence in teaching as well as a commitment to helping our students develop through academically challenging content, opportunities for service learning and community engagement, or other exemplary practices in the field of pedagogy.

This year, the two award winners are Dr. Ruth McDonald, lecturer in Women’s and Gender Studies and Ms. Chavah Schwartz, lecturer in Religious Studies.

Dr. Gina Nunez-Mchiri, Director of Women’s and Gender Studies, commented on Dr. McDonald’s “solid commitment to education and service” and said that she “incorporates technology in preparing students to become media literate” and “is enthusiastic, collaborative, and accessible to her students and to her peers.”

According to Dr. Clayton Bench, Director of Religious Studies, Ms. Schwartz is “an indispensable part of RS faculty” and “is committed to excellence in teaching and to helping her students excel not only in the classroom but in their education and life generally.”

Our congratulations to Dr. McDonald and Ms. Schwartz on this well-deserved recognition of their dedication to UTEP and our students!