Past Presidential Teacher Award Winners

Professor Lonnie R. Welch is the Stuckey Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Ohio University, a member of the Graduate Faculties of the Biomedical Engineering Program and of the Molecular and Cellular Biology Program, director of the Bioinformatics Laboratory at Ohio University, and the founder and Chair of the Great Lakes Bioinformatics Conference (an official conference of the International Society on Computational Biology). His research has been sponsored by the National Human Genome Research Institute, the Ohio Plant Biotechnology Consortium, NASA, the National Science Foundation, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, and the Ohio Board of Regents. He is the principal investigator of the $9M Bioinformatics Program of the Ohio Board of Regents. Dr. Welch is founder and co-chair of the ISMB Special Interest Group on Bioinformatics for Regulatory Genomics (BioRegSIG).

Dr. Neil Littell is an Associate Professor, Director of Project Management Programs, and Kraft Family Scholar at Ohio University within the Russ College of Engineering and Technology in the Department of Engineering Technology and Management. He is passionate about sharing his experiences with students and companies about being an effective project and program manager. His research interests are helping companies design, develop, and deploy digital transformation projects and assisting them in defining their digital engineering strategy. 

Dr. Kamile Geist (she/her/hers) is a professor in Music Therapy within the School of Music in the College of Fine Arts. Dr. Geist holds a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from Ohio University, an M.A. in Music Therapy from Texas Woman's University, and a Bachelor of Music Education from Baylor University. As chair of the Music Therapy division, she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses and advises all graduate Music Therapy research. Nationally known as a leader in shaping Music Therapy curriculum in the United States, Dr. Geist works diligently to provide a safe and inclusive learning environment for her students. Her constructivist style of teaching allows her to deliver learning concepts to be accessible for students from various backgrounds and with diverse learning styles. 

Adam is the Schey Professor of Sales and Marketing and Executive Director of the Ralph and Luci Schey Sales Centre. Adam holds a Ph.D. from the University of Connecticut, and M.B.A. from Villanova University, and a B.S. from Penn State. Adam has taught every sales course offered at Ohio University and previously across every level including master's level and doctoral classes. His primary focus is professional selling where he teaches the fundamentals of of selling. He has taught thousands of students on how to engage customers and solve problems through ethical selling practices. He uses real world experiences, role play activities, and corporate involvement to enhance the classroom experience. Adam uses several different assessments in his classes, so students can better understand themselves to be more effective at helping others. His research supports his teaching curriculum and he was recently awarded the Ohio University Presidential Research Award. Adam has published three books and over sixty-five peer-reviewed articles which examine factors influencing the performance of front-line service and sales personnel. He has presented at hundreds of conferences and events around the globe. After earning his M.B.A., Adam spent several years in the market research industry, primarily responsible for selling market research products and services to premier companies around the world.

Geoff Buckley is a professor in the Department of Geography in the College of Arts and Sciences. He holds a Ph.D. in Geography from the University of Maryland, an M.A. in Geography from the University of Oregon, and a B.A. in Human Ecology and History from Connecticut College. HIs research interests include environmental history and historical geography, environmental justice, public lands, and urban sustainability. Geoff enjoys working with students both inside and outside the classroom, and often includes them in his research projects. The most innovative teaching experience he provides is an annual study abroad trip to Edinburgh, Scotland. Every day students have an opportunity to explore a different part of the city in this experiential learning-grounded program. For many, it is a truly transformative experience!

Dr. Rice is the James S. Reid/Standard Products Company Professor of Humanities and Professor of English in the College of Arts and Sciences. She is the co-founder of the Bruning Teaching Academy and director of the Master of Arts in English Online program. From 2017-2022 Linda has served as chair of the English Department. She is past president of the College English Association of Ohio and former secretary of the Ohio Council of Teachers of English Language Arts. Linda's research areas include English Language Arts education, active learning pedagogy, standards-based assessment, historically-based, culturally-rich young adult literature, African literature, and C.S. Lewis. She delights in the way that her roots in English in tandem with specialized training in Curriculum and Instruction have opened many doors and enabled her to be a flexible generalist who can pivot easily to meet various needs. She is the author of more than 25 publications including two books, ten chapters for edited books, and numerous journal articles. Linda's work has also involved extensive travel for formal program assessments and teacher trainings in China, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Lebanon. 

Sinan is a JPMorgan Chase & Co. Associate Professor of Finance at Ohio University and a former Visiting Scholar at Fisher College of Business, The Ohio State University. Sinan holds a Ph.D. in Finance, and MBA and B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. His research focuses on sell-side analysts, asset management and investment banking. His papers have been published in elite finance, accounting and management journals such as The Journal of Finance, Journal of  Accounting and Economics, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Management Science as well as distinguished finance and real estate journals including Financial Management, Journal of Banking and Finance and Journal of Real Estate Research. His work was also featured in National Bureau of Economic Research, presented at governance agencies including The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (The SEC), The Federal Reserve Bank (The Fed) in Washington, D.C., International Monetary Fund (IMF) and featured in media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Bloomberg Opinion, The New York Times, Morningstar, Financial Times, Institutional Investor Magazine, CFO Magazine, among others. 

Dr. Tony M. Vinci lives at the crossroads of literary history and popular culture. As an Associate Professor of English at the Chillicothe campus, he teaches a wide-ranging selection of classes from Star Wars and Holocaust literature to young adult fantasy and literary modernism to androids in film and African American literature. His scholarship is as diverse as his classes, including publications on animal ghosts and African American identities in the literature of William Faulkner; trauma in the science fiction of Philip K. Dick; and the cheerful anti-humanism of Shirley Jackson. His most recent work, Ghost, Android, Animal: Trauma and Literature Beyond the Human (Routledge 2020) reorients literary and cultural studies toward the radical ethics of the posthumanities, establishing the manner in which narrative genres engage trauma as a means to experiment with radical conceptions of human and non-human networks and subjectivities in an effort to theorize new systems of ethical relations. While this work is heavily theoretical (a designation often considered "unfriendly" for students), in the classroom, it translates into powerful and inspiring intellectual possibilities.

Dr. Peterson is an Associate Professor in the School of Communication Studies and the Coordinator of E-Learning for the Scripps College of Communication. Her research focuses on the communicative construction of membership in organizations. Much of her work to date has focused on defining and understanding the construct of involuntary membership within the context of a total institution (i.e., inmates) and exploring the nuances of “high stakes” volunteering (e.g., volunteer firefighters, international volunteers). Her scholarship also investigates stigmatized members (e.g., parolees, individuals living without homes) in an effort to understand the lingering effects of their enduring membership with an eye toward empowerment, agency, and ownership. She juxtaposes her work on membership with the theories and constructs of structuration, dialectics, organizational identification, and organizational socialization/assimilation. Dr. Peterson’s work has been published in peer-reviewed journals including Management Communication Quarterly, Communication Monographs, Health Communication, Communication Quarterly, Non-Profit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Communication Education, and Journal of Applied Social Science as well as in edited books. Dr. Peterson considers learning a lifelong endeavor for both her students and herself. She notes that her students have taught her to be better, to dig deeper, to inspire more passionately, and to commit to them more fiercely every single day she steps through doors as a professor.

Roger Braun is Professor and Director of Percussion Studies in the School of Music in the College of Fine Arts. His performance experience demonstrates great diversity and spans the idioms of contemporary, classical, jazz, popular, and world music. As a freelance musician he has been in demand throughout the Midwest and performed as percussionist for Broadway touring show productions including Beauty and the Beast, Titanic, and Ragtime. What he finds most exciting as a teacher is the point at which his students achieve their proficiencies and begin to focus on developing their own personal strengths and interests, finding their own voice and path in the music world. He feels a responsibility to help his students develop not only as musicians and individuals, but also to find success in the challenging field of music.

Dr. Robert Klein is undergraduate chair and associate professor of the Department of Mathematics in the College of Arts and Sciences. He was selected as a Presidential Teacher based on his passion for teaching and learning, his strong teaching innovations, his unique and important contributions to the mathematics department, his ability to energize and motivate students in the learning of math, and his considerable outreach well beyond his college and the university that is having a significant impact. His work with the Navajo Nation Math Circle was considered extraordinary. The committee also commented on his impressive pedagogical approach to mathematics and student mentoring.

Dr. Tresa Randall is an associate professor of dance of the School of Dance, Film, and Theater in the College of Fine Arts. In selecting her as a Presidential Teacher, the committee recognized her as a strong example of a performer and scholar: a true intellectual with wonderfully high standards who engages her students to think critically about dance and history and to inspire enthusiastic student engagement. In the words of one classroom observer “Her spirit and intellect permeate her classroom.” She brings her teaching philosophy (described as excellent and fresh) to life in the classroom. Also of note was her commitment to engaging her students “across modalities” whereby she embraces the belief that to truly understand dance they must be solidly grounded intellectually, creatively, physically and be able to articulate their thoughts both orally and in writing.

Jennifer Chabot is an Associate Professor in the Department of Social and Public Health. Dr. Chabot is known for her tremendous enthusiasm and her encouragement of independent thinking. Dr. Chabot uses social media to connect with her students outside of the classroom and to help keep them actively exploring new ideas. Jennifer Chabot is a two time Presidential Teacher Award winner, also receiving the award for the 2006-07 to 2008-09 academic years.

Sarah E. Wyatt is a Professor in the Department of Environmental and Plant Biology in the College of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Wyatt is seen as an innovator, mentor, and a strong advocate for undergraduate research. She is known for her ability to present complex material in a compelling manner using written and oral expressions as central components of her classroom teaching. Dr. Wyatt also received the Presidential Teacher Award for the 2007-08 to 2009-10 academic years, making this her second time winning the award.

Haley Duschinski is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology. She earned her Ph.D. from Harvard University in 2004 and began teaching at Ohio University in 2005. Dr. Duschinski is the director of the Ohio University Center for Law, Justice, and Culture, which brings together faculty and students to whom share a common interest in the law’s role in cultural, political, and social life. In the spring, Dr. Duschinski gives her students the opportunity to study abroad in Northern Ireland where they can engage with the local population to learn firsthand about politics, law and human rights.

Professor Hoyt is recognized on the Lancaster campus by students and his colleagues as a teacher who has a genuine impact on students and their learning. His courses are intelligently and creatively conceived to facilitate intensive interaction and dialogue and to allow students to assume a co-teaching role in presenting material to their peers. He regularly uses a project-based pedagogy through which he connects course content to agencies and organizations in the Lancaster area. The selection committee appreciated the level of energy that he brought to his teaching and his skill in moving between various modes of teaching while keeping students engaged.

Katarzyna Marciniak is a Professor in the Department of English. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Oregon in 1998 and is the co-editor of the series Global Cinema. Dr. Marciniak is a rigorous and effective teacher that explores difficult issues related to gender, race, class, religion, and immigration.

Julia Paxton is an Associate Professor of Economics at Ohio University where she teaches classes on poverty, altruism, and development economics. Students in her classes are offered a number of experiential learning opportunities through games, experiments, and service learning projects in order to better understand economic theories on poverty. These unique hands-on projects range from sharing meals with people experiencing homelessness to conducting Randomized Controlled Trials for estimating the most effective way to collect food for a local food pantry.

Emilia Alonso Sameno is a Professor in the Department of Modern Languages. She is known for her research on speech perception and for her studies on second language acquisition. Dr. Alonso-Sameno earned her Ph.D. in applied linguistics from the University de Sevilla in Spain.

Raymond D. Frost is a Professor in the Management Information Systems department. He is also the Director of Studies for College of Business students in the Honors Tutorial College (HTC). Frost joined the College of Business in 1999. His primary research areas are instructional pedagogy, information design, and database design. He has received multiple teaching awards at both the College and University level. Frost earned a doctorate in business administration and an M.S. in computer science at the University of Miami (Florida), and received his B.A. in philosophy at Swarthmore College. He lives in Athens with his wife, Tere, and two boys, Raymond and Luke.