Board of Regents' Outstanding Teaching Awards

Assistant Professor Cisco Gomes and Senior Lecturer John Blood have been honored with 2012 University of Texas System Regents' Outstanding Teaching Awards.

Offered annually in recognition of faculty members at the nine academic and six health University of Texas System institutions who have demonstrated extraordinary classroom performance and innovation in undergraduate instruction, the Regents' Outstanding Teaching Awards are the Board of Regents' highest honor. With a monetary award of $25,000, the Regents' Outstanding Teaching Awards are among the largest in the nation for rewarding outstanding faculty performance. Given the depth and breadth of talent across the UT System, the awards program is likewise one of the nation's most competitive.

Faculty members undergo a series of rigorous evaluations by students, 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.

Gomes stated, "My teaching is based on the belief that students are most engaged and inspired when challenged to understand architecture as a situated dialogue rather than a stand-alone discipline, and to create designs which achieve meaning through thoughtful response to their complex physical, social and cultural contexts. Engagement is the consistent goal of my teaching, guided by the belief that students who develop the skills to critically interpret and operate effectively within our complex world will become our best architects, as well as our best citizens."

Besides the cash awards, winners also received a bronze medallion and a certificate commemorating the achievement. A full list of honorees is available online.

Professor Richard Cleary received the award in 2011. Professor Christopher Long and Associate Professor Elizabeth Danze received the award in 2010. Five faculty members received the award in 2009 — Professors David Heymann and Larry Speck, Associate Professors Smilja Milovanovic-Bertram and Ulrich Dangel, and Senior Lecturer Joyce Rosner.