Three out of 335 faculty members were recognized for faculty excellence at West Texas A&M University. Each of the winners also was awarded in their respective colleges as all college winners are considered for the University awards. These awards include professional service, intellectual contributions and instructional responsibilities.
Dr. Carolyn Bouma, associate professor of biology, is awarded for Professional Service. Since 2006, Bouma has contributed to WT by supporting students in roles such as coordinator of the Texas Tech Mentor Program, advisor for the Pre-Healthcare Club, past-chair of the Texas Association of Advisors for the Health Professions, a mentor in the Joint Admission Medical Program, a statewide scholarship program for pre-medicine students, and as an academic adviser. Bouma not only assists students enrolling in courses, but she also supports students through the medical school application process, which amounts to approximately 40 students annually.
As chair of the College Health Professions Advisory Committee, she prepared 24 evaluation letters for 17 students applying to graduate schools, scholarships, full-time employment and summer programs in 2019. On average, more than 50 percent of WT students who applied to medical school were accepted, above the 42 percent national average.
Dr. Byron Pearson, professor of history, is awarded for Intellectual Contributions. This year, Pearson completed his historical monograph titled “Saving Grand Canyon: Dams, Deals, and a Noble Myth,” a career-long research project that was written over the summer and edited in the fall to be published in 2019. Pearson also has three refereed articles accepted for publication this year. He is editor for the centennial issue of the Journal of Arizona History, which is the equivalent of an anthology. He also will author the headnotes and introduction.
Pearson has focused largely on public history by planning/moderating four different events and lecturing for a colleague’s course in addition to planning The Remnant Trust event in the fall. He also served as a Historical Consultant/Fact Checker for an article in New Yorker Magazine.
Dr. Robert King, assistant professor of marketing, is recognized for Instructional Responsibilities. King’s course load provided a diversity of demands each semester ranging from two courses in the fall to six in the spring and varying from stacked courses to cross-listed as well as varying levels and both on-campus and online. As one of the more demanding jobs in the college, King is honored for his consistent quality to students. In addition to his colleagues, he’s highly-regarded by his students in favorable evaluations.
King is a sought after academic adviser and the advisor for Alpha Mu Alpha, an honorary society focused on marketing. He co-leads study abroad trips for the Paul Engler College of Business and recently took students to Germany, Switzerland and Austria in summer 2018 and Scandinavia in summer 2019. He and students will go to China in later this summer.
-West Texas A&M University
