As students celebrate their accomplishments of 2021-22, UNC Greensboro also celebrates those faculty who made their lessons feel real, practical, and personal, helping each student put what they learned into action beyond UNCG.
This year, Dr. Nadja Cech was honored with the UNC Board of Governors Excellence in Teaching Award. Three other professors were recognized with Teaching Excellence Awards.
Read their profiles below to see what they and their students have to say about their success:
Mary Settle Sharp Award for Teaching Excellence
Dr. David Wharton, Associate Professor, Department of Classical Studies
“I believe that inquiry and contemplation in the humanities, aimed at seeking what is good, true, and beautiful, are important components of human happiness available to all people. I also believe that such encounters can help students begin to develop intellectual and moral virtues like wisdom, tolerance, compassion, and justice, of which our society seems to be in some need.”
Dr. Wharton developed UNCG’s former graduate program in Latin. He then revised it for an all-online degree, receiving a $6,000 FTLC development grant to do so. He developed a freshman seminar and Foundations course for the new Minerva’s Academic Curriculum (MAC). Dr. Wharton is always open to changing his curriculum, if he finds the results are “more about me finding out what [students] didn’t know rather than them showing me what they did know.” He is updating the Intermediate Latin textbook he wrote to support students who need more assistance post-COVID-19.
UNCG student Joshua Marx says Dr. Wharton inspired him to pursue a doctoral degree in Classics. “The Classics program contains students of many different academic backgrounds, which makes Dr. Wharton’s individualistic approach to teaching all the more valuable. Dr. Wharton would make sure to seek out the input and participation of every student in the classroom in any given lecture time. He also would encourage us students to confidently think of solutions to problems we may not have previously encountered.”
James Y. Joyner Award for Teaching Excellence
Erin Speer, Assistant Professor, School of Theatre
“Many in the arts feel we have entered a new ‘golden age’ of musical theatre. The demographics of our student populations in the School of Theatre and our musical theatre program reflect UNCG’s minority-serving institution (MSI) status. This means we must lead the way nationally in programming theatrical works that reflect the diversity of our student population.”
Speer has worked with Broadway, regional theatres, and independent film. She came to UNCG in 2018 to help develop the musical theatre program, and teaches classes on acting, directing, musical theatre performance and dance, and audition techniques.
Adapting theatre to a COVID-19 world – something traditionally enjoyed with a crowd – is a challenge, but Speer already has experience transforming art to engage a more diverse group of students. Her courses incorporate contemporary artists’ adaptations of classical plays, to introduce students to other perspectives on gender, orientation, race, and ability. During the 2020-21 year, she produced four original musical films written by diverse writers.
While the School of Theatre launches its centennial celebration, Speer will embark on a new chapter in her professional career as Assistant Director of the School of Theatre.
MFA candidate Allison McCarthy says of Speer’s instruction, “She has proven to be one of the most reliable, compassionate, and motivated professors with whom I have collaborated and my respect for her as a pedagogue and mentor is unparalleled. This is apparent not only in the quality of work she has helped me achieve as a student, but also by the sheer volume of projects and classes through which she has graciously provided her mentorship.”
Anna Maria Gove Award for Teaching Excellence
Dr. Jessica McCall, Senior Lecturer, Department of Communication Studies
“I thrive on moments when students are able to embrace learning as a catalyst for personal, professional, and communal growth and change. While it would be unrealistic to assume that every moment in the classroom is groundbreaking, I do believe the university classroom can be managed in constructive ways to create spaces that recognize and engage students as they are, yet also challenge them to synthesize, evaluate, and improve their learning experiences.”
Students with the Communication Studies program can look to Dr. McCall for guidance throughout their educational journey. She is the Basic Course Director and developed multiple courses on Applied Communication.
Dr. McCall trains and mentors graduate teaching assistants, and has provided workshops for the academic community and for corporate organizations. She is a contracted facilitator for the Center for Creative Leadership. Twice she has been named Facilitator of the Year for the Team QUEST Challenge Program.
“Dr. Jessica McCall has an incredible gift of connecting with students and inspiring them to achieve their academic aspirations,” says Taylor Lynn Williams ’14, ’17. “She has supported me and cared for me through both my undergraduate and graduate career. Without her investment in my academic career, I would have never learned my full academic potential. Dr. McCall’s gift is truly powerful because she is able to inspire the learner to learn for themselves.”
Story by Janet Imrick, University Communications
Photography by Megan Swever
Portraits courtesy of Dr. David Wharton, Erin Speer, Dr. Jessica McCall, and Catie B Photography
