Dean Stratton's Comments

INTRODUCTION

Each year we present awards to our faculty for outstanding effort and achievement in three areas of academic excellence--Teaching, Research, and Service. A modest (actually very modest) monetary stipend goes with each of these awards.

OUTSTANDING TEACHING AWARD
For the Outstanding Teaching Award, the Executive Committee of the College reviews student course evaluations for the past several years as well as several other indicators of teaching excellence.

This year's award goes to Dr. Kevin Parker.

Kevin joined our CIS faculty four years ago. He completed his Ph.D. degree in Management Information Systems at Texas Tech University in 1995, and worked as a programmer/analyst for Conoco and held teaching positions in New Mexico and at St. Louis University prior to joining us at ISU.

Kevin teaches courses in foundations of computer programming, advanced business programming, systems analysis and design, object oriented development, and database management systems.

He has consistently received course evaluations from students ranking him high in the college. Two different times in the last two years Kevin’s students have rated him a perfect 4.00 in teaching effectiveness. Kevin is constantly introducing innovations in his teaching and spends a great deal of time advising students.

Typical student comments gleaned from his course evaluations include:

Comments on his teaching approach:
- “Well structured, well organized”
- “Hard but fair”
- “Demands a lot, yet he is human and understands when problems arise”
- “He is really flexible in helping students.”
Comments on his personal style:
- “Very funny and outgoing” (cited many times)
- “Interacts with students well”
Advice for the dean:
- “Give Dr. Parker a raise!!!” (however, the third mention of this item raised my suspicions)
And finally, every instructor’s dream comment:
- “Wasn’t boring,” or even better…
- “Made boring crap semi-interesting” (my personal favorite)

This year’s COB Outstanding Teaching Award goes to Kevin Parker.

Dr. Parker, who joined the faculty in 1999, earned his Ph.D. in Management Information Systems at Texas Tech University. He teaches courses in foundations of computer programming, advanced business programming, systems analysis and design, object oriented development, and database management.

His student course evaluations consistently rank him high, and twice during the last two years his students rated him a perfect 4.0 in teaching effectiveness. He constantly introduces innovations in his teaching and spends a great deal of time advising students.

The award is based on student evaluations as well as other indicators of teaching excellence. Student comments from his course evaluations illustrate his high teaching quality. Comments on his approach to teaching include: “Well structured, well organized.” “Hard but fair.” “Demands a lot, yet he is human and understands when problems arise.” “He is really flexible in helping students.” Other comments include: “Very funny and outgoing.” “Interacts with students well.”