SAN ANTONIO (July 10, 2013) — The University of Texas System Board of Regents on July 9 announced that eight exemplary faculty members of The University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio will receive the Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Awards (ROTA) for 2013.
The eight honorees from the Health Science Center are:
- Sarah Gill, Ph.D., RN, IBCLC, professor of family and community health systems in the School of Nursing;
- Thomas King, Ph.D., Distinguished Teaching Professor of cellular and structural biology and obstetrics and gynecology in the School of Medicine;
- George Kudolo, Ph.D., FAIC, FACB, Distinguished Teaching Professor of clinical laboratory sciences in the School of Health Professions and director, Graduate Toxicology Program;
- Michael Lichtenstein, M.D., M.Sc., the F. Carter Pannill Jr. Professor of Medicine in the School of Medicine, chief of the Division of Geriatrics, Gerontology and Palliative Medicine, and co-principal investigator of the Institute for the Integration of Medicine and Science;
- Glen Medellin, M.D., FAAP, interim division chief of general pediatrics, Greehey Distinguished Chair in Palliative Care for Children, Distinguished Teaching Professor and associate professor of pediatrics in the School of Medicine;
- Charleen Moore, Ph.D., Distinguished Teaching Professor and Piper Professor of cellular and structural biology in the School of Medicine;
- Rajam Ramamurthy, M.D., Rita and William Head Distinguished Professor of Environmental and Developmental Neonatology and clinical professor of pediatrics/neonatology in the School of Medicine;
- Gregory Spackman, D.D.S., M.B.A., professor of oral and maxillofacial surgery in the Dental School.
“These distinguished faculty honorees represent the full breadth of the Health Science Center, from nursing to health professions to medicine to dentistry and from bench scientist to educator to clinician,” said William L. Henrich, M.D., MACP, president of the Health Science Center. “I am deeply proud of their individual and collective efforts that have led to their being honored by the Regents in this way.”
Each faculty honoree receives an unrestricted check for $25,000. Current and past honorees are showcased on the UT System’s ROTA website. Thirty-one faculty of the System’s other five health institutions also are receiving the awards this month.
The ROTA program was established in 2008 for academic institutions and in 2012 for health institutions. Since the program began, the Board of Regents has distributed $12 million in cash awards to faculty members who have demonstrated extraordinary classroom performance and dedication to innovation.
Brief snapshots of the honorees’ achievements follow.
Dr. Sarah Gill’s area of excellence is maternal and child health nursing, qualitative research methods, lactation consulting and mentoring. Dr. Gill has demonstrated excellence in teaching students at the baccalaureate, master and doctoral levels.
Dr. Thomas King, in collaboration with colleagues and with funding from AT&T, developed Virtual Microscopy for Health Professionals, a comprehensive set of digitally scanned color images of human tissue specimens which all but replaces use of the traditional light microscope and glass slides to teach histology and pathology to medical and dental students.
Dr. George Kudolo’s goals include producing highly educated, well-rounded laboratory and health care workers. His courses contain clinical or postmortem cases to encourage problem solving and tests focus on this rather than on repeating lists of facts.
Dr. Michael Lichtenstein’s success as division chief of Geriatrics, Gerontology and Palliative Medicine is measured by the career development of his faculty, fellows and students. He has spearheaded the development of a series of research education programs that reach a broad range of scientists and health professionals at the Health Science Center and in the UT System.
Dr. Glen Medellin models humanistic values, traits and behaviors for medical students, residents and fellows, and is a tireless source of guidance and mentorship for students. He has taught in a range of settings (inpatient, outpatient, hospice, private practice) and has utilized a variety of teaching methods over his 15 years on the faculty.
Dr. Charleen Moore, originally a clinical cytogeneticist and clinical geneticist, transformed herself into an expert in human anatomy. Her anatomy colleagues think highly of her contributions and students appreciate the way she will help them to work their way through a difficult dissection or concept.
Dr. Rajam Ramamurthy, whose primary area of practice is neonatology, has demonstrated exemplary performance in curriculum development, mentoring and educational leadership. She has led a longtime program, PREMIEre, that enhances development of former premature infants.
Dr. Gregory Spackman facilitates learning in creative ways, demonstrates compassion for the welfare of patients who receive care in the Dental School’s oral surgery clinics, and provides indispensable and professional devotion to the educational management of the school.
The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, one of the country’s leading health sciences universities, ranks in the top 3 percent of all institutions worldwide receiving National Institutes of Health funding. The university’s schools of medicine, nursing, dentistry, health professions and graduate biomedical sciences have produced approximately 28,000 graduates. The $736 million operating budget supports eight campuses in San Antonio, Laredo, Harlingen and Edinburg. For more information on the many ways “We make lives better®,” visit www.uthscsa.edu.