Nominations Open Until March 1 for 2010 Campuswide Outstanding Teacher

OXFORD, Miss. – Superior classroom teaching is recognized annually at the University of Mississippi with the selection of one faculty member to receive the campuswide Elsie M. Hood Outstanding Teacher Award.

Nominations from faculty, staff, students and alumni are invited until March 1 for this year’s honoree. Assistant, associate and full professors are eligible except previous recipients of the award. The winner receives a $5,000 prize and a personal engraved plaque, and his or her name also goes on a permanent plaque displayed in the J.D. Williams Library.

Nomination letters, which are not to exceed 500 words, should describe specific examples of inspirational teaching. Letters that have been submitted for nominees in previous years are also considered by the selection committee, which comprises eight previous Hood Award recipients, the director of Alumni Affairs and a student representative. 

Letters of nomination should be delivered or mailed to the Chancellor’s Office, 123 Lyceum, University, MS 38677 or e-mailed to chancllr@olemiss.edu. Students, faculty and staff can submit nominations online through myOleMiss at http://www.olemiss.edu/news/hood_award.

“The University of Mississippi is known for its teachers who represent the best in higher education,” Chancellor Dan Jones said.

“The annual Elsie M. Hood Award is intended to choose one outstanding faculty member from among many whose exceptional careers are marked by such qualities as a personal investment in their work, a strong commitment to their discipline, an uncommon knowledge of their subject matter, inspirational teaching and extraordinary encouragement of students.”

The winner will be introduced April 8 at the university’s 67th annual Honors Day Convocation.   

The Outstanding Teacher Award has been a tradition at Ole Miss since 1966. In 1988, Mr. and Mrs. Warren A. Hood Sr. of Jackson made a gift to endow the award, and it was named the Elsie M. Hood Outstanding Teacher Award in Mrs. Hood’s honor.

In 2000, the Hoods made another gift to support the award so that it will continue in perpetuity. It is sponsored by the Hood family, the Alumni Association and the Chancellor’s Office.

Past winners of the award who are active faculty members are John Winkle, James W. Davis, Natalie Schroeder, James Vaughan, Robert Weems, Kenneth Sufka, Colby Kullman, Morris H. Stocks, Ronald A. Schroeder, Tonya Flesher, Mark Wilder, Laurdella Foulkes-Levy, David Willson, Gregory Schirmer and John Neff. 

For more information, including a complete list of winners, visit http://www.olemiss.edu/news/hood_award/.