The University of Georgia has honored three faculty members with its highest recognition for excellence in instruction, the Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professorship.
“At a university with an unrivaled commitment to student success, Meigs Professors are the best of the best,” said Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Pamela Whitten, whose office sponsors the award. “They educate and inspire University of Georgia students to achieve their full potential.”
The 2018 Meigs Professors are Santanu Chatterjee, associate professor of economics and director of the full-time master’s in business administration and master of science in business analytics programs in the Terry College of Business; Michael Marshall, professor of art in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences; and Patricia Richards, professor of sociology and women’s studies in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences.
Chatterjee has partnered with financial technology corporations in Atlanta to provide students with meaningful experiential and project-based learning opportunities to prepare them for jobs in the rapidly growing FinTech sector of the economy. Since assuming the role of director of the Full-Time MBA Program for the Terry College in August of 2014, Chatterjee has worked to expand interdisciplinary offerings through the creation of five new dual-degree programs.
Chatterjee has received the George P. Swift Award for Outstanding Teaching in Undergraduate Economics three times and also has been named Outstanding Teacher for the Terry College of Business.
Marshall has taught every course in the photography curriculum of the Lamar Dodd School of Art, redesigning the program of study to integrate new technology and the medium’s changing role in visual culture. He utilizes service-learning to hone students’ skills while engaging the concerns of Georgia communities and the environment. As associate director of curriculum for the art school, Marshall has placed the needs of students at the forefront of curriculum development with new programming emphasizing ideation and interdisciplinary practice. Marshall received the 2017 Honored Educator Award from the Society for Photographic Education Southeast Chapter as well as the Sustainability Outstanding Faculty Award and the 2015 Service-Learning Teaching Excellence Award at UGA.
Richards has tailored her courses to enhance her students’ understanding of global issues while empowering students through classroom discussion to further engage with the material. Richards, who also is a member of the core faculty of the Latin American and Caribbean Studies Institute and an affiliate faculty member of the Institute of Native American Studies, has designed a series of courses where students analyze disparate nations and societies to promote a critical understanding of the world. She has played an integral part in curriculum changes in LACSI and the Institute for Women’s Studies.
Richards is a member of the UGA Teaching Academy and a recipient of the Sandy Beaver Excellence in Teaching Award and the Richard B. Russell Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, the top early-career honor at UGA.
The Meigs Professorship underscores the university’s commitment to excellence in teaching, the value placed on the learning experiences of students and the centrality of instruction to the university’s mission. The award includes a permanent salary increase of $6,000 and a one-year discretionary fund of $1,000.
More information about the Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professorships is at http://bit.ly/2HPxlrS.