The Committee on Teaching and Scholarship is pleased to announce that the 2020 Teaching Award winner is Tammy VanDeGrift, Shiley School of Engineering. She has been a champion of continuous improvement in teaching and student learning throughout her 15-year career at the University of Portland. Her focus on pedagogical approaches is not solely for her own teaching, but is a passion she shared by initiating Teaching and Learning Lunches and Teaching Circles within the Shiley School of Engineering, and as a generous mentor to many faculty across campus. VanDeGrift was in the first cohort of the UP REFLECT STEM Innovation project, where one peer observer noted, “Tammy is the living embodiment of an exemplary teacher, advancing student learning through skilled content organization that enables active engagement in the classroom.”VanDeGrift’s students express appreciation for the care she takes to create a positive learning environment tuned to their needs, and the lengths she goes to help them discern their interests and connect content to “real life” applications. Comments such as the following are indicative of the types of responses in her course evaluations: “Dr. VanDeGrift always has some way of teaching that always stays with the student. She upholds participation in a manner that isn’t filled with pressure which can be a really comfortable classroom experience. It was easy to learn hard topics thanks to the schedule and strategies used in this course.” Another colleague writes that, “She cares that her students not only learn computer science, but that all students learn and learn to be computer scientists with an understanding of their broader role in society.”
Education is also a key theme in VanDeGrift’s research, where she has made valuable contributions to her profession. She has over fifty peer-reviewed publications; many of these are related to computer science education and engineering education, including topics of student advising, retention, and diversity.
Please join in congratulating Tammy VanDeGrift on this latest honor!
The Committee on Teaching and Scholarship is pleased to announce that the 2020 Scholarship Award winner is Heather Dillon, Shiley School of Engineering. Known as a dedicated and talented researcher among her peers, she has had a prolific record of scholarship in her eight years at the University of Portland. Dillon created her UP research lab from the ground up and developed collaborations with other industry and University partners to pursue work on renewable energy and energy efficiency. One of her colleagues wrote, “Heather has been incredibly successful in including students in her research program and mentoring them in research methods and in applying for summer research positions and for graduate school.” Dillon has mentored over 40 students and this work was recognized by the Provost Award for Faculty Mentors in 2017. She holds elected positions in the Engineering Division of the national Council on Undergraduate Research as councilor and vice-chair.
The Committee on Teaching and Scholarship (TAS) has determined award recipients for the 2019-2020 Butine Faculty Development Fund Spring cycle, according to committee chair Hannah Highlander, mathematics. Butine award recipients are:
The Committee on Teaching and Scholarship is excited to announce this year’s Faculty Development Day theme, “Compassionate listening and responding: How to transform UP into a more diverse, supportive, and inclusive campus.” The morning keynote address and several late morning sessions will be centered around this theme. The remaining sessions, most of which will occur in the afternoon, are then open to a variety of topics, which may or may not relate to the overall theme.
The Committee on Teaching and Scholarship welcomes proposals of themes for Faculty Development Day on May 8, 2018. The theme will be the morning’s focus of this special day. Interested faculty should submit a 1-2 page proposal identifying the keynote speaker and breakout panels for Session One of Faculty Development Day. Sessions later in the day will remain open for other distinct topics proposed by faculty across campus (these specialty sessions will be solicited in the spring).
The Committee on Teaching and Scholarship is accepting faculty nominations for the 2017-2018 Teaching Award and Scholarship Award. These awards are an opportunity for the University community to recognize and celebrate two of its own for outstanding achievements in teaching and scholarship. The committee will accept nominations until noon on Friday, January 26. Nominations should be submitted on the Committee’ Moodle site. Submission of supporting materials by nominees will be due by noon on Friday, March 16. Visit the Academic Senate resources pages for information regarding the nomination process, award criteria, and supporting materials that will be needed by the Committee.
The Committee on Teaching and Scholarship is accepting faculty nominations for the 2016-2017 Teaching Award and Scholarship Award, according to committee chair Aaron Wootton, mathematics. These awards are an opportunity for the University community to celebrate publicly two of its own for outstanding achievements in teaching and scholarship. The committee will accept nominations until noon on Friday, February 3, by e-mail to