The University of Arkansas Teaching Academy and the Office of the Provost recently announced the Industrial Engineering Department, in the College of Engineering, as the second annual recipient of the Daniel E. Ferritor Award for Departmental Excellence in Teaching. A faculty committee made the selection based on applications submitted by academic departments last fall.

The Industrial Engineering Department was selected because of its sustained commitment to high-quality teaching, student learning, faculty development, and student success. The department will receive a one-time $10,000 supplement to its operating budget and a permanent trophy, as well as having the unit name placed on a traveling university plaque housed in the department for a year. Formal recognition of the Industrial Engineering Department will occur with the award presentation at the Faculty Appreciation Week reception, Thursday, April 12.

Ed Pohl, department head, said, "We are excited and honored to receive this award. While our department strives to produce top-notch research, our faculty and staff also work diligently to maintain a student-focused culture within the department. We are fortunate to have outstanding teachers, mentors, advisors, and staff who are passionate about student success. The preparation of the nomination package was truly a team effort. We learned a lot about ourselves as a department, including our strengths and where we can continue to improve. I truly appreciate the efforts and leadership of Chancellor Emeritus and Distinguished Professor John White, who chaired our nomination committee."

Jeannie Whayne, chair of the Ferritor Award Review Committee, helped present the award. She said, "The faculty at the University of Arkansas understand that the ability of students to succeed is greatly enhanced by the quality of the classroom instruction they encounter. The dedication of faculty to the teaching mission of the university has long been understood and appreciated, and the Daniel E. Ferritor Award recognizes the teaching excellence of specific departments that have demonstrated a departmental culture that incentivizes and recognizes the teaching mission. The awards committee was truly impressed with the many submissions for the Ferritor Award and gratified by the number of departments that collectively demonstrate excellent teaching."

The departmentwide teaching award is named in honor of Daniel E. Ferritor, chancellor from 1986-1997 and interim chancellor during 2015, in recognition of his longstanding commitment to students and faculty and his consistent support for excellence in teaching and learning at the University of Arkansas. The Teaching Academy, organized by Ferritor in 1988, seeks to advocate and represent teaching interests, promote and stimulate an environment of teaching and learning excellence, and encourage recognition and reward for exceptional teaching.