Lorraine C. Brewer is the 2012 winner of the Dr. John and Mrs. Lois Imhoff Award for Outstanding Teaching and Student Mentorship.

The award is presented annually by the Teaching Academy and celebrates excellence in teaching and mentorship. Fiona Davidson and John W. Cole were named runners-up for the award.

The Imhoff award was created by a gift from the John and Lois Imhoff Trust to the University of Arkansas Teaching Academy. The award recognizes university faculty members who teach introductory-level courses and have demonstrated consistent and committed excellence in teaching and mentoring, qualities central to the mission of a student centered institution. The recipients must be nominated by peers, including a member of the Teaching Academy, and reviewed by the academy’s award committee.

Brewer is an instructor in the department of chemistry and biochemistry where she teaches large sections of university and organic chemistry, advises chemistry majors and pre-pharmacy students, and mentors both undergraduates and graduate student small group leaders. She routinely teaches 200-400 students in a section and facilitates courses for as many as 1600 students a semester. She has collaborated with the Enhanced Learning Center to provide small supplemental instruction sessions for the chemistry students in her courses to assist them in developing the study skills and problem-solving expertise needed for success.

Lorraine serves as an academic adviser for more than 100 students, advises students during orientation, and also serves as a faculty adviser for registered student organizations, including the Pre-Pharmacy Society.

Lorraine was inducted in the University of Arkansas Teaching Academy in 2006, and also serves on the Premedical Advisory Committee and the All-University Academic Integrity Board as well as other departmental and university committees.

She has also been recognized for her contributions beyond the university. She has been recognized – three times – as an outstanding volunteer for her contributions to the Fayetteville Public Schools and has served as president of the Fayetteville Library Board of Trustees. Not only has she published in the field of teaching science, she is also a co-principal investigator on a $1.2 million National Science Foundation “You Teaching Science” grant.

Fiona Davidson

Fiona Davidson is a faculty member in the department of geosciences in Fulbright College and has won multiple awards for her teaching and mentoring, including the Department of Geosciences Outstanding Teacher Award, the Fulbright College Master Teacher Award, the University of Arkansas Outstanding Mentor, 2004-2009, and the U of A Gold Medal Award for Advising in 2006.

She has guided no fewer than 21 students through SILO-SURF Awards and Honors College Undergraduate Research Awards. One of her students described her has an “enlightening educator, an insightful mentor, and an inspirational role model.” An expert on the European Union, Davidson is the co-author of two popular books in political geography as well as a number of articles on Scottish and European politics. She is also a past president of the Southwest Association of American Geographers (SWAAG) and is currently the secretary/treasurer of the Political Geography Specialty Group in the Association of American Geographers (AAG) and serves on the editorial board of the Southwestern Geographer Magazine.

John Walker Cole

John Walker Cole of the Sam M. Walton College marketing department has been a fellow of the Teaching Academy since 2005 and has earned a truly impressive list of teaching and mentoring awards at the University of Arkansas. In 2007 he won both the Walton College Business Award for Teaching and the University of Arkansas Alumni Association Award for Teaching Excellence. In 2012 he won both the University of Arkansas’ Outstanding Mentor Award and the Beta Gamma Sigma Award for Outstanding Teaching.

It has been said of him that has accumulated a long-standing and well-deserved reputation for being a positive teacher and role model. His strong work ethic and positive attitude resonate with students. One of his students described him “as a man of very strong character, a man of great integrity ... who genuinely cares about his students.” Cole has been owner of Cole & Company Inc. DBA Walker Brothers Dry Goods, a full-line men's clothing store. His experience in the retail and real estate investment industries gives him a unique perspective that benefits his students by using practical, real-life situations to teach academic concepts.

The 2012 Awards Committee, which reviewed numerous outstanding candidates, was co-chaired by Dub Ashton and Jeff Ryan and assisted by Rick Couvillion, Greg Herman and Cheryl Murphy.