This past Monday, November 6th, 2023, The Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE) hosted the 33rd annual Montague-CTE Scholars Award Luncheon.
The Montague-CTE Award is named in honor of Kenneth Montague ‘37, a distinguished alumnus and outstanding trustee of Texas A&M University Development Foundation, who had a long and storied career in the Texas oil industry. Ken and Judy Montague endowed a generous gift in 1991 to benefit the future “Ken Montagues”, Aggies who are lifelong learners and contributors to their communities.The Center is deeply grateful to his son, Jim, and wife, Vicki, for their generous and continued support that recognizes their excellence in teaching and learning at Texas A&M University.
The Montague-CTE Scholars Award is given annually to ten tenure-track assistant professors based on their early success in and passion for teaching undergraduate students. Awardees receive a $6,500 grant to further develop their programs and projects for the improvement of teaching and the learning of their students.
Dr. Debra Fowler, Executive Director of the Center for Teaching Excellence, opened the Luncheon with welcoming remarks and by introducing the event's speakers. Dr. Fowler has strived to make the event more special each year, in an effort to share with these faculty the value that the university gives for teaching excellence.
Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dr. Alan Sams, addressed the 2023 Montague-CTE scholars and congratulated them on their remarkable accomplishments. To date, there have been 297 recipients of this award. Provost Sams recognized the hard work and dedication of the awardees and applauded the CTE for their role in transformational education through consultation services, workshops and awards, as well as a vast array of resources.
Keynote speaker of the event, Dr. Craig Coates, was named a Montague-CTE Scholar in 2002. Dr. Coates is currently serving as Associate Department Head for Entomology and Associate Dean for programmatic Success at Texas A&M University. Dr. Coates shared the impact of this award on his career and congratulated fellow scholars on their achievement.
Director of the Center for Teaching Excellence, Dr. Ra’sheedah Richardson, named the honorees and shared their instructional goals and teaching philosophies with those in attendance. She was accompanied in presenting the awards by Dr. Michael Johnson, Interim Associate Provost for Faculty Success and Interim Associate Vice President for Faculty Affairs, as well as Provost Sams.
The 2023 Montague-CTE Scholars recipients are:
- Maddalena Cerrato, Bush School of Government and Public Service
- Marc Goodrich, School of Education and Human Development
- Jacquelyn K. Grace, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
- Zhipeng Lu, School of Architecture
- Garrett McKay, College of Engineering
- Regina Mills, College of Arts and Sciences
- Sushil Paudyal, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
- Daniel Tabor, College of Arts and Sciences
- Heather Thakar, College of Arts and Sciences
- Tianna Uchacz, School of Performance, Visualization and Fine Arts
Congratulations to the newly awarded scholars as they continue their commitment to teaching excellence. For more information on the Montague-CTE Scholars program, visit the Montague - CTE page.