Faculty honored with 2020 Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award

Two UT Health San Antonio faculty members have been selected to receive the 2020 Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award from The University of Texas System Board of Regents.

Keith A. Krolick, PhD, professor in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics in the Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine and program director for the integrated biomedical sciences graduate program in the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, and Juanita Lozano-Pineda, DDS, MPH, associate professor in the Department of Comprehensive Dentistry and associate dean for external affairs for the School of Dentistry, were both honored with the award.

“This distinguished honor reflects your personal commitment to student success through extraordinary teaching expertise and mentorship,” UT Health San Antonio President William L. Henrich, MD, MACP, said in congratulating Drs. Krolick and Lozano-Pineda. “Your dedication to teaching excellence inspires students to achieve their professional goals.”

Dr. Krolick has been teaching for about 40 years and said he enjoys passing on the enthusiasm for learning that was once shared with him by his teachers.

“My satisfaction comes from helping students step back from lesson plans and daily lectures to see the big scientific picture. To look beyond the ‘what’ questions and truly understand why things work the way they do,” he said. “My job is to build bridges over which our students must cross to become productive, re­spected members of the scientific and clinical community.”

Dr. Krolick teaches basic science and pre-clinical science courses for PhD and MS students and for medical, dental and nursing students. He serves as the director of several graduate-level and pre-clinical courses.

Dr. Krolick was elected as a member of the UT Health San Antonio Academy of Master Teachers and as a University of Texas System Distinguished Teaching Professor. He is also a member of UT System’s Kenneth I. Shine, M.D., Academy of Health Science Education. In 2019, he received a Presidential Award for sustained excellence in teaching from UT Health San Antonio.

Dr. Lozano-Pineda started teaching in the School of Dentistry in 2002. Prior to that she taught dental students as an adjunct faculty member and supervised dental students during their clinical rotations at CentroMed, a federally qualified community health center.

Juanita Lozano-Pineda, DDS, MPH

“What I enjoy most about teaching dental students is the ability to engage and educate students to develop skills that will allow them to be compassionate oral health care providers for the communities they will serve,” she said. “I am passionate about bringing out the best in each student, and seeing them receive important clinical training while they also help address the oral health needs of our community.”

Dr. Lozano-Pineda is active in recruitment and retention efforts for students that are under-represented in the health professions.

Overall, 27 faculty members representing all 14 UT academic and health institutions have been named recipients of this year’s Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Awards.

“Their dedication to teaching excellence and student success is instrumental to achieving our education, research and health care missions,” said Board of Regents Chairman Kevin P. Eltife.

The University of Texas System Board of Regents established the annual awards program in 2008. Since then, more than 750 educators have been honored.

Nominees undergo a series of rigorous evaluations by students, peer faculty and external reviewers. The review panels consider a range of activities and criteria in their evaluations of a candidate’s teaching performance including classroom expertise, curricula quality, innovative course development and student learning outcomes.

The recipients were recognized with a video shown during the Board of Regents meeting Aug. 20. Each recipient receives a certificate and a medallion in appreciation of their impact on students and their institutions.



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