NEW ORLEANS – Top educators around the Sun Belt Conference were recognized today as the league announced its first-ever Faculty Member of the Year Awards.
This award recognizes a faculty member from each Sun Belt institution who displays valuable classroom skills such as developing relationships, being a good communicator and showing a passion for teaching, engaging and inspiring students, while also separating themselves from their peers outside the classroom by regularly attending athletics events and displaying enthusiasm for the athletics department.
"These educators continue to go above and beyond to positively impact the lives of students and student-athletes at our Sun Belt universities. We are honored to recognize their dedication to student success on their respective campuses," said Sun Belt Commissioner Keith Gill.
The concept for the award originated at the Sun Belt's 2018 Fall Meeting during conversation between the Sun Belt Ambassadors, a collection of student-athletes from around the conference, and Faculty Athletic Representatives. It was then decided that each institution would submit an honoree to the conference office to recognize annually.
"This marks the inaugural Sun Belt Conference Faculty Award at all of our member institutions and we recognize that faculty members play a vital role in the student-athlete experience," said Arkansas State Faculty Athletic Representative Karen McDaniel, Ph.D. "Our Sun Belt student ambassadors started this initiative last fall as a way of recognizing faculty on our campuses who are great teachers going over and beyond to help students. Faculty Athletics Representatives worked with the student ambassadors to establish criteria for this award to honor these exceptional faculty members. I believe this is a testament to how much students appreciate their faculty."
The Sun Belt Conference's 12 honorees come from nearly 10,000 full-time faculty members. The combined enrollment across the conference is more than 160,000 students with student-athletes comprising more than 3,100.
2019 FACULTY MEMBER OF THE YEAR AWARD RECIPIENTS
South Alabama
Alan Chow
Department of Marketing and Quantitative Methods
Dr. Alan Chow is an associate professor in the Department of Marketing and Quantitative Methods in South Alabama's College of Business. Chow has degrees in Quantitative Business Analysis, Finance, and Instructional Design and Development from Louisiana State University and the University of South Alabama.
Dr. Chow was promoted to associate professor in 2015, has authored at least 30 scholarly articles and was a recipient of the 2006-2007 "Top Prof" award from Mortar Board National Honor Society and the USA Student Government Association.
It is safe to say Chow's reputation for supporting South Alabama's student athletes is significant. One student indicated "the second I came to college he was the person I could always trust to go to whenever I struggled in class or just wanted to talk to about my future goals. He always been a huge supporter of South's athletics. He's always helping fellow athletes and is always willing to listen and get to know his students personally."
Appalachian State
Amanda C. Howell
Department of Chemistry and Fermentation Sciences
Arkansas State
Shane Hunt
Department of Management and Marketing
Coastal Carolina
Deborah Breede
Department of Communication, Media & Culture
Georgia Southern
William Brian Dowis
School of Accountancy
Georgia State
Kris Varjas
Director of the Center for Research on School Safety, School Climate, and Classroom Management
Little Rock
Rachel E. Tennial
Department of Psychology
Louisiana
Ruben D. Henderson
Assistant Director of Student Activities
ULM
William Hey
School of Allied Health
UTA
Bethany Shaffer
College of Liberal Arts
Texas State
Amy Perry
Department of Political Science
Troy
Michael Orlofsky
College of Communication and Fine Arts
