The Center for Teaching and Faculty Excellence (CTFE) has named its 2014 Teaching Excellence Award winners, recognizing significant work that George Mason faculty members devote to course planning and preparation, curriculum development, innovative teaching, advising, and undergraduate and graduate mentoring. An awards ceremony was held April 21 in the lobby of the Center for the Arts Concert Hall.
Jill Nelson, faculty member in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at VSE earned a University Teaching Excellence Award. The native of Oklahoma is an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at Volgenau. She's been on the faculty at Mason for nine years.
"I love the diversity of backgrounds my students have. Some are seeing electrical engineering for the first time, others have engineering work experience that allows them to connect theory to practice and still others are entering engineering from another field as a second career," says Nelson. "It enriches the classroom experience to have so many perspectives represented."
Nelson also appreciates the opportunities at Mason for innovation in teaching and learning in engineering education. "I've been able to engage in collaborations with faculty in both engineering and education to study how students learn engineering concepts and what faculty can do to improve student learning."
Mason's Teachers of Distinction are faculty members who were finalists for the Teaching Excellence Award and created noteworthy teaching portfolios that showcased their commitment to teaching and learning.