Three win Teacher/Adviser of the Year Awards at UF for 2005-2006

April 24, 2006

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Three University of Florida faculty and staff members won the 2005-2006 Teacher/Adviser of the Year awards Wednesday night. The winners are:

Gary Fairchild, professor of food and resource economics, Teacher of the Year. A teacher for 35 years, Fairchild’s students consistently rank him among the highest in his department. Peers describe him as an outstanding teacher with an uncommonly effective classroom style who inspires students to achieve their best. His unique combination of enthusiasm, energy and humor motivates students to care about what they learn, not only in his courses but throughout life. At UF, he has chaired committees on program development, peer evaluation, College-TIP selection and other curricular issues; advised department and college clubs and councils; mentored junior faculty; and served on the University Center for Excellence in Teaching advisory board.

Amy Abugo Ongiri, assistant professor in the department of English/ film and media studies program, Teacher of the Year. Ongiri, a teacher here for three years, strives at all times to create a student-centered classroom, with a focus on interdisciplinarity, which helps students to establish their place on campus and in the world. She has mentored students in a variety of capacities, and several of them have gained admission to highly competitive graduate and professional schools. She has worked closely with a variety of campus student groups, serving on many student-sponsored panels and workshops and also advising groups on issues that affect them.

Jennifer B. Horton, program assistant in the department of materials science and engineering, Adviser of the Year. Horton keeps an open door to all her undergraduates, which helped half of them get on the dean’s list last fall, the highest percentage in one semester since she began more than six years ago. She is as familiar with her 21 National Merit Finalists and two Lombardi Scholars as with the students whose grades are falling toward possible probation. In addition to advising, she coordinates the annual MSE-Teach workshop.