The end of the semester means that some time is taken to recognize the work of dedicated faculty at the University of Georgia for their contributions in a number of areas. This year, two critical friends of the Archway Partnership received awards for their work.
Elizabeth Davis, professor in the English Department and Coordinator of the Writing Certificate Program in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, was honored with a Creative Teaching Award this year. Stephan Durham, professor and assistant dean for student success and outreach in the College of Engineering, was named Engaged Scholar Award winner by the Office of Public Service and Outreach.
The Creative Teaching Awards are given every year to recognize University of Georgia faculty who have developed and implemented particularly creative teaching methods. Presented annually on behalf of the Office of Instruction, the Center for Teaching and Learning and the Office of the Provost, award recipients have demonstrated innovative technology or pedagogy to broaden student learning outside the classroom or have used creative methods to improve student learning outcomes.
Elizabeth Davis and two of her students pose with two of Hart County’s distinguished citizens, Jack Edmunds and Dick Phillips. The group traveled to Hartwell to record some oral histories of the region and the lives of Edmunds and Phillips.
Davis was among five recipients this year. She has helped take the mandate for Archway to connect communities to UGA resources, students and faculty, and accomplished several great projects throughout the state.
Her “Writing for the Web” and “Writing and Community” classes have done some great work in Archway communities, including creating a website for Candler County, a publication for “Traditions Highway” running through Washington County, a Pulaski County website, and more.
Congratulations to all the winners of the 2020 Creative Teaching Awards and we look forward to many more years of a great partnership with Ms. Davis!
To read about all the winners and learn more about Elizabeth Davis’ work, follow the link:
https://news.uga.edu/2020-creative-teaching-awards/
The Engaged Scholar Award, established in 2008 as the Scholarship of Engagement Award, recognizes a tenured associate or full professor who has made significant career spanning contributions to UGA’s public service and outreach mission through scholarship, service-learning opportunities for students and campus leadership.
The award serves to sustain or enhance the honoree’s public service and outreach endeavors or to support the development of new ones.
Durham’s students have done an amazing amount of work in Archway communities. Each year, engineering students are required to do a Capstone project in order to graduate and thanks to the partnership between Durham and the Archway Partnership – with an assist from our Engineering liaison Operations Coordinator Angel Jackson, several of these projects are done in Archway communities.
Durham and students on a site visit in Spalding County
Civil and environmental engineering students have done site work and completed designs on a wide range of projects – including just this year, a jail feasibility study in Hart County, a boat ramp and recreation location project in Thomson-McDuffie and an intersection improvement/traffic mitigation project in Spalding County.
Durham accompanies each group on their site visits and is always available for consultation and questions from both students and the communities.
Thanks to the work of Durham and his students, Archway communities have been able to save thousands of dollars with preliminary planning and budgeting.
A big congrats to Davis and Durham on their awards and we hope to continue our partnerships for many years to come!