The U of A Teaching Academy recently inducted eight new Fellows who have been recognized by their peers, colleges and the university for excellence in teaching. The newly inducted Fellows include Margaret Butcher, Laura Herold, Shanda Hood, Leslie Massey, Vernon Richardson, Amanda Sullivan, Kate Walker and Li Yang.

To be inducted into the Teaching Academy, each Fellow must be nominated by a Teaching Academy member, dean or department chair.  A committee of Teaching Academy members reviews nominations and selects eight new Teaching Academy members each year.

Teaching Academy Inductees

Margaret Butcher is a teaching associate professor of communication in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences. She teaches courses on Intercultural Communication, Representational Issues in Film, Contemporary Communications Theory and Communicating with Kindness, among others.  She has also designed numerous online courses for the Department of Communication that have earned the Quality Matters Certification. In addition, she created a six-hour study abroad course that focuses on intercultural communication in Belize. Butcher incorporates hands-on cultural learning into her courses by requiring students to volunteer for various programs.  She also encourages her colleagues by sharing resources and presentations on teaching related topics. She has won many awards for her teaching including the John I. Sisco Excellence in Teaching Award. She has also received the Wally Cordes Chair Award from the Wally Cordes Teaching and Faculty Support Center.

Laura Herold is a teaching associate professor in the School of Human Environmental Sciences in the Dale Bumpers College of Agriculture, Food and Life Sciences.  She developed and secured the state's approval of a new bachelor's degree program in Birth - Kindergarten Teacher Licensure.  She continues to lead this program and teaches courses focused on early childhood education, including Child Guidance, Child Development, and Developmental Assessment. In addition, she advises all birth - kindergarten majors and leads the birth - kindergarten internship program, where she pairs students with mentor teachers, provides individual feedback on student lesson plans, and observes the teaching of every graduating senior. She co-developed the only study abroad course offered at the U of A for early childhood educators that is undertaken in Italy and focuses on the Reggio Emilia approach. She has received many awards for her mentorship including an Outstanding Mentor Award from the U of A Office of Nationally Competitive Awards and the U of A Honors College Mentor Award. 

Shanda Hood is a teaching assistant professor of mathematical sciences in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences. She teaches a diverse range of mathematics courses, including Calculus I, College Algebra, Math Study Skills, Survey of Calculus, and Calculus I with Review.   She serves as the course coordinator for Survey of Calculus, and in this role, she has transformed the course by integrating innovative teaching and active learning methods. In addition, she contacted students who were repeating Survey of Calculus and met with them individually to define strategies to help them successfully complete the course.  She received the Not-So-New Faculty Teaching Commendations from the Wally Cordes Teaching and Faculty Support Center at University of Arkansas in 2020, 2021, 2022.  She also received the Kathleen Morris Excellence in Teaching Award and the John C. Massey Memorial Fund Teaching Award from the U of A.

Leslie Massey is an advanced instructor in the First-Year Engineering Program in the College of Engineering. She teaches Introduction to Engineering I and II and is the coordinator for the First-Year Honors Innovation Experience. Additionally, she leads interdisciplinary innovation courses for students in engineering, business, arts and sciences. She is actively involved with the American Society for Engineering Education and has authored more than 20 publications on first-year engineering education.  She has received her certification in Effective College Instruction through ACUE (Association for College and University Educators) and Academic Life Coaching through Coaching Training EDU. She was recently recognized by the Wally Cordes Teaching and Faculty Support Center as the October 2024 Wally Cordes Chair.  She has received the University of Arkansas Outstanding Faculty Advisor Award from the Academic Advising Council and a Faculty Commendation from the Wally Cordes Teaching and Faculty Support Center.   She was inducted into the Arkansas Academy of Biological and Agricultural Engineers in 2020.

Vernon Richardson is a distinguished professor of accounting and the W. Glezen Chair in the Sam M. Walton College of Business.  He teaches Data Analysis and Interpretation and Accounting Analytics.  His teaching philosophy centers on the belief that, in an era of rapid technological change, students must develop the ability to solve complex problems through hands-on learning, data analysis and real-world application. He has published six textbooks on business analytics, including Accounting Information Systems, Introduction to Data Analytics for Accounting and Data Analytics for Accounting.   Richardson has received many international awards for his teaching and his work including the American Accounting Association's Outstanding Accounting Educator Award, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountant's Distinguished Achievement in Accounting Education Award, and the Innovation in Accounting Education Award from the American Accounting Association and the EY Foundation.  He also received the 2024 Walton College Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award.

Amanda Sullivan is a teaching associate professor of exercise science, assistant department head of Health, Human Performance and Recreation, and graduate coordinator in the College of Education and Health Professions. Since joining the U of A in 2010, Sullivan has taught 18 courses in three different program areas.    She has participated in many student-centered programs, including the Adopt-A-Prof program through University Housing.  She currently serves as the chair of the BRAVE Committee in the Department of Health, Human Performance and Recreation (HHPR) and helps organize student engagement opportunities, such as World Kindness Day, Mental Health Awareness, Welcome Back and Finals Survival days. She recently was named a 2025 Leadership Institute Fellow with the American Kinesiology Association. In addition, she has received several awards for her teaching and service including the department's Outstanding Service Award in 2024, the department's Outstanding Teaching Award, and New Faculty Commendations from the Wally Cordes Teaching and Faculty Support Center.

Kate Walker is an instructor in the Department of Biological Sciences in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences. She teaches Human Physiology and coordinates the preparation and teaching of Human Physiology Laboratory.  She has also been a co-instructor for Inquiry and Modeling in Science, a course designed for students who wish to teach K-12 students.   She regularly gives presentations on teaching across campus and at national meetings and workshops. She was selected as Faculty of the Month in August 2024 by the National Residence Hall Honorary, a student-led organization at the U of A.  In 2022, she was one of 45 doctoral students who participated in the Graduate Residency Workshop at the European Science Education Research Association Summer School in Utrecht, Netherlands.  In 2021, she received the John C. Park National Technology Leadership Initiative Fellowship Award at the Association for Science Teacher Education's annual conference. She has also received Commendations for Teaching from the Wally Cordes Teaching Faculty and Support Center.

Li Yang was the recipient of the 2023 Dr. John and Mrs. Lois Imhoff Award for Teaching and Mentoring from the Teaching Academy and is an instructor in the World Languages, Literatures and Cultures Department of the Fulbright College of Arts and Science. Her teaching philosophy focuses on the process of providing students with pathways that connect their experiences to the knowledge taught in her classroom. Yang teaches Elementary Chinese, Intermediate Chinese and Chinese Culture and Film, amongst other Chinese language courses. Yang has also mentored students in several capacities including assisting students to study abroad in China, as the faculty RSO advisor for the Chinese Language and Cultural Club, and through the development of Chinese cultural events in her department and for the campus community.

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About the Teaching Academy: The Teaching Academy was established by Daniel Ferritor, the university's third chancellor, in 1988 and consists of faculty members who have been recognized by their peers, colleges and the university for excellence in teaching.  The Teaching Academy holds monthly meetings for its members, provides teaching resources and workshops, recognizes faculty for teaching excellence, and supports student learning initiatives across campus to further student success. For more information or to view a list of members, visit teaching-academy.uark.edu.

About the University of Arkansas: As Arkansas' flagship institution, the U of A provides an internationally competitive education in more than 200 academic programs. Founded in 1871, the U of A contributes more than $3 billion to Arkansas' economy through the teaching of new knowledge and skills, entrepreneurship and job development, discovery through research and creative activity while also providing training for professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the U of A among the few U.S. colleges and universities with the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the U of A among the top public universities in the nation. See how the U of A works to build a better world at Arkansas Research and Economic Development News.