UT System Regents honor 12 faculty members for exceptional teaching performance
The University of Texas System Board of Regents today announced 12 recipients of the 2024 Regents Outstanding Teaching Awards. The honorees – faculty from UT academic and health institutions – were selected for demonstrating extraordinary classroom performance and innovative teaching.
“Exceptional teaching is at the heart of our mission, and these award winners represent the highest ideals of education,” said UT System Board of Regents Chairman Kevin P. Eltife. “By honoring these 12 educators, we’re not only celebrating their achievements but also reinforcing the UT System’s role in preparing students to excel in and out of the classroom.”
The UT System Board of Regents established the annual Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Awards program in 2008. Each recipient receives a certificate, a medallion and $25,000 in appreciation of their positive impact on students and their institutions.
“These outstanding faculty members are being honored because they represent the very best – providing exceptional learning experiences for our students,” said UT System Chancellor James B. Milliken. “We are grateful to the Board of Regents for creating and championing this recognition of the UT System’s commitment to the very best in education.”
The 2024 Outstanding Teaching Awards winners are:
Academic Institution Recipients
- LaDonna Aiken, Broadcast Specialist, Department of Communication, UT Arlington
- Jason Boyle, Associate Professor Kinesiology Physical Therapy and Movement Sciences, Department of Kinesiology, UT El Paso
- Marcela Hebbard, Lecturer, Writing & Language Studies Department, UT Rio Grande Valley
- Matthias Hofferberth, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science & Geography, UT San Antonio
- Oziel Rios, Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, UT Dallas
- Melanie Sattler, Professor and Department Chair, Department of Civil Engineering, UT Arlington
- Rebecca Schroeder, Professor of Instruction and Associate Dean, University College, UT San Antonio
- Etienne Vouga, Associate Professor, Department of Computer Science, UT Austin
Health Institution Recipients
- Khaled Elsayes, Professor of Radiology, Department of Abdominal Imaging, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center
- Carin Hagberg, Professor of Anesthesiology and Chief Academic Officer, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center
- Laura Howe-Martin, Director of Behavioral Sciences, Moncrief Cancer Institute, UT Southwestern Medical Center
- Christiana Rastellini, Professor of Instruction, Department of Neurobiology, UT Medical Branch
Nominees for the Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Awards undergo a series of rigorous evaluations by peer faculty and external reviewers. The review panels consider a range of activities and criteria in their evaluations of a candidate’s teaching performance, including classroom expertise, curricula quality, innovative course development and student learning outcomes.
About The University of Texas System
With 14 institutions that enroll over 256,000 students overall, the UT System is the largest university system in Texas and one of the largest public university systems in the United States. UT institutions produced over 66,000 graduates last year and awarded more than one-third of the undergraduate degrees in Texas. They also educate more than one-half of the state’s health care professionals and award about 60% of the state's medical degrees annually. The combined efforts of UT-owned and affiliated hospitals and clinics resulted in over 10.8 million outpatient visits and more than 2.1 million hospital days in 2023. UT’s $4.3 billion research enterprise is one of the nation’s most innovative, ranking No. 1 in Texas and No. 2 in the U.S. for both total and federal research expenditures. With an operating budget of $32 billion for fiscal year 2025, UT institutions collectively employ more than 122,000 faculty, health care professionals, support staff and students.
News Contact Information
Paul Corliss: pcorliss@utsystem.edu • 512-499-4761 (direct)
