University Professors receive a permanent salary increase of $10,000 and a yearly academic support of $5,000. Nominations from the deans of UGA’s schools and colleges are reviewed by a committee, which makes a recommendation to the provost.
Keith Langston is a professor in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. (Photo by Andrew Davis Tucker/UGA)
Keith Langston
Professor
Department of German and Slavic Studies
Department of Linguistics
Franklin College of Arts and Sciences
During the nearly 30 years that Keith Langston has been a member of UGA’s faculty, he has seen and had a hand in the expansion of language studies at the university. In that time, he has served as head of the Department of German and Slavic Studies and the Department of Linguistics and led the creation of the Russian language major.
“Through these and many other contributions, Dr. Langston has made a lasting impact on students and colleagues at the University of Georgia,” said Anna Stenport, dean of the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences.
Langston led the establishment of the linguistics department in 2017 and became its first head—a position he currently holds and has been reelected to twice. Additionally, he served as Russian language program coordinator from 1995 to 2017, revising and reorganizing the entire Russian curriculum.
Through the years, Langston has also continued work on his own research. He has authored or co-authored three books, one of which has also been translated into Croatian, and a number of articles and book chapters. He’s completed numerous conference presentations, papers and invited lectures.
He’s been awarded a nearly $450,000 grant from the National Science Foundation for the documentation and study of endangered language varieties spoken in northwestern Croatia, in addition to other grants and awards.
Langston also mentors students in their own research. He has supervised or co-supervised four Ph.D. dissertations and two M.A. theses and has served on 26 Ph.D. and 38 M.A. committees.
In the classroom, Langston continues to innovate. He calls himself “an early adopter of instructional technology” and was selected to participate in the inaugural cohort of the Center for Teaching and Learning’s Instructional Technology Leadership Program in 2000. Since then, he regularly redesigns courses with active learning in mind.
Paula Lemons is a professor in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. (Photo by Dorothy Kozlowski/UGA)
Paula Lemons
Professor
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Associate Dean
Franklin College of Arts and Sciences
Paula Lemons considers herself a change agent in academic leadership, policy development, innovative programs and teaching.
“We have all served with her in the Franklin College Dean’s Office and seen firsthand the impact she is having on the university, particularly in the areas of graduate education, science collaboration, and education and teaching assessment,” said Anna Stenport, dean of the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences.
An example of her academic leadership is her founding and seven-year executive directorship of the Scientists Engaged in Education Research (SEER) Center, which includes nearly 50 faculty who conduct STEM education research and/or utilize its outcomes in their teaching.
As part of the SEER Center’s National Science Foundation grant for the DeLTA project, Lemons led colleagues to collaborate with members of the university administration and faculty governance to pass two key policy pieces pertaining to teaching evaluation. According to Lemons, these policies serve UGA by broadening and clarifying the type of evidence that can be used to document teaching effectiveness, improving the quality of judgments made about teaching, and ensuring that the university sustains an inclusive work and learning environment.
One innovative program Lemons notes is the establishment of the Biology Education Research Interdisciplinary Group. This group is unique in that it includes faculty who conduct education research and faculty who conduct traditional bench- or field-based research. Graduate students in the group then have the opportunity to conduct both types of research with faculty members.
Lemons also continues to innovate in her teaching. For example, she was among the first to adopt peer learning assistants in her introductory biochemistry course. PLAs are students who successfully complete the course and then return the following semester to assist the case-based, small-group learning of their peers. Now, PLAs are widespread at UGA through the Division of Academic Enhancement and the Active Learning Initiative.