Master Teacher

About the Award

The Master Teacher Award is the highest honor bestowed by the university for teaching. The designation is a testimony to a record of "sustained excellence" reflecting "proven knowledge and use of effective teaching methods, plus active advocacy for teaching and learning."

Master Teachers represent:

• Knowledge and use of effective and engaging pedagogy.
• Advocacy for teaching and learning, as reflected by characteristics such as:
  • Passion for teaching and learning.
  • Engagement of students - mentoring undergraduates and/or graduates in research, active learning classes, group work, service-learning, and/or community-based learning.
  • Impact beyond the nominee’s own courses—e.g., curricular development, mentoring of other faculty colleagues, publications, presentations, or web resources.
• Sustained (minimum 10 years at Baylor University) commitment to teaching excellence.

Nominations Process 

1. The provost shall issue a call for nominations (with a limit of one per nominator) at the beginning of May in years ending in 4 or 9, with a deadline of 5 p.m. on the first Friday of October. Nominations may be made by former students of the nominated faculty member (whether or not the former students are currently enrolled at Baylor) or by current or former staff, faculty, or administrators personally familiar with the nominated faculty member’s record of teaching achievements and other contributions to teaching.
2. Each nominator shall assemble a nomination dossier consisting of (1) a current CV and (2) letters of support from the nominator and others. These materials should shed light on the desired qualities of a master teacher by describing the following achievements:
   • The nominees' length of service at Baylor;
   • External and/or internal teaching awards;
   • Peer-reviewed educational research grants and/or publications;
   • Pedagogical materials developed for use at Baylor or other institutions;
   • Impact of the nominee's teaching on the achievement of former students; and
   • The impact of the nominee's teaching activities within the department as effected through mentoring, sharing pedagogical insights, and developing curriculum. 
3. The nominations are reviewed by the selection committee, the provost, and the president. The final decisions will be communicated in the following spring. 

Previous Awardees

• 1982- Robert L. Reid and  Ann V. Miller.
• 1990- Emerson O. Henke, Angus S. McSwain Jr., Robert G. Packard, and James W. Parsons.
• 1993- Robert M. Baird, Jochem F. Burckhardt, Tommye Lou Davis, David W. Guinn, Roger E. Kirk, Harold W. Osborne, David E. Pennington, and James W. Vardaman.
• 2003- F. Ray Wilson II and Helen H. Ligon.
• 2004- Rachel Moore, J. William Petty, Alden Smith, William Thomas, and Bill Underwood.
• 2005- D. Thomas Hanks Jr. and Gerald R. Powell.
• 2016- Corey P. Carbonara, T. Laine Scales, and Gaynor Yancey.
• 2020- Robert Darden, Anne-Marie Schultz, and Charles A. Weaver.
• 2025- Kevin D. Dougherty, Andrew P. Hogue, Wiff Rudd, and J. Lenore Wright.