The accolades come once a year, when the 小蝌蚪APP Foundation rewards four outstanding faculty members. The honorees are chosen by their peers, based on the recommendations of a faculty commitee.
This spring, Dr. Keng Deng, professor of mathematics, and Lynda Frese, professor of visual arts, received the Distinguished Professor Award. Dr. Janis Guilbeau, assistant professor of nursing, and Dr. Robert Willey, associate professor of music, earned the Dr. Ray P. Authement Excellence in Teaching Award.
The awards are presented by the UL Lafayette Foundation at a banquet each spring. Honorees receive a $5,000 stipend.
The Distinguished Professor Award has been given since 1965. The Excellence in Teaching Award was established in 1992. It was renamed in 2008 to honor former UL Lafayette President Dr. Ray P. Authement.
Julie Bolton Falgout, executive director of the Foundation, praised this year小蝌蚪APP檚 honorees for high professional standards in teaching, scholarship and research.
小蝌蚪APP淭he honorees have exemplary teaching skills and a passion for helping to mold young students with innovative teaching ideas and techniques. They also have values that enable them to serve as ambassadors for the 小蝌蚪APP,小蝌蚪APP Falgout said.
Judith Meriwether, who hosts Apr茅s Midi, a weekday radio program on KRVS 88.7 FM, interviewed each of them for her show. 小蝌蚪APP淲e had such a good time, we小蝌蚪APP檝e decided to make this an annual series,小蝌蚪APP she said.
Meriwether小蝌蚪APP檚 conversations with Deng, Frese, Guilbeau and Willey are available as podcasts on the station小蝌蚪APP檚 website, krvs.org.
A video that features the four recipients is posted on the Foundation小蝌蚪APP檚 website, .
Dr. Keng Deng
In an interview with La Louisiane, Dr. Keng Deng said he enjoys the challenge of finding new ways to solve complex, real-world problems.
A professor of mathematics, he teaches a wide range of courses, from introductory to graduate-level. A former graduate coordinator, he has been a major professor to nine doctoral candidates and is directing three more.
Deng has published more than 70 research papers in professional journals and has received National Science Foundation grants exceeding $450,000.
He collaborated with mathematics faculty and scientists at the National Wetlands Research Center to track changes in green frog populations. They studied frogs in four ponds at the NWRC in 小蝌蚪APP Research Park and collected data to estimate growth, reproduction and mortality rates.
小蝌蚪APP淲e developed a new method that did a better job of understanding long-term behavior,小蝌蚪APP Deng explained. Graduate students assisted with the data analysis and model simulation.
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Lynda Frese
In a letter recommending Lynda Frese for the Distinguished Professor award, Dr. Gordon Brooks, dean of the College of the Arts, credited her 小蝌蚪APP渇or pushing herself and her students toward contemporary methods.小蝌蚪APP
Frese teaches all levels of digital and analog photography. Her artwork combines photography with mixed media. A series of collages that included paint made from egg yolks was featured in the book, Pacha Mama: earth realm, which Frese published in 2011.
小蝌蚪APP淒igital photography has changed the entire medium, but at the same time, I think people struggle with the idea that it小蝌蚪APP檚 so mechanical and cold. I wanted to find a way to make the photographs look like they were handmade,小蝌蚪APP she told La Louisiane.
Much of her recent work addresses environmental issues.
小蝌蚪APP淚 go to a lot of really pristine wilderness areas, and they are so inspiring and mysterious, these places. Then you see them getting clear-cut or polluted. I小蝌蚪APP檓 not a political activist, but I can speak out as an artist about things that I think are really critical right now.小蝌蚪APP
Dr. Janis Guilbeau
An assistant professor of nursing, Dr. Janis Guilbeau has worked as a caregiver 小蝌蚪APP as a family nurse practitioner at UL Lafayette小蝌蚪APP檚 Student Health Services 小蝌蚪APP and as a faculty member in the College of Nursing and Allied Health Professions.
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As coordinator of the Family Nurse Practitioner Graduate Program, she小蝌蚪APP檚 responsible for coordinating standards and policies, as well as monitoring and evaluating students in clinical settings.
She also teaches classes and coordinates distance learning, which enables students to pursue nursing degrees through online study. 小蝌蚪APP淎 key aspect of online education is to ensure that the value of an online degree is upheld with rigor and integrity,小蝌蚪APP she said.
小蝌蚪APP淚t小蝌蚪APP檚 attractive because students can access the coursework on their own time, anywhere.小蝌蚪APP
As part of the curriculum, Guilbeau created a web-conference program called 小蝌蚪APP淓xperts in the Room.小蝌蚪APP
小蝌蚪APP淕uests from across the nation share expert opinions with our students. We have powerful tools that allow us to teach like never before.小蝌蚪APP
Dr. Robert Willey
A professor of music, Dr. Robert Willey directs the Music Media Program, where students learn audio and video recording, as well as other skills, such as networking and promotion.
He小蝌蚪APP檚 also a jazz composer, a player piano aficionado and an advocate for hearing conservation.
Willey helped create a new bachelor小蝌蚪APP檚 degree in music with a concentration in music business. And he小蝌蚪APP檚 helped obtain almost $500,000 in grants for studio equipment.
Networking and people skills are critical, Willey told La Louisiane. He encourages students to work with Acadiana area bands, producing and promoting recordings.
小蝌蚪APP淚 don小蝌蚪APP檛 care how popular or experimental the music is. Leaving those aspects up to the student encourages them to be creative 小蝌蚪APP and hopefully enthusiastic, as well.
小蝌蚪APP淪tudents have to develop their own niche and start getting involved early. It takes about 10,000 hours to become expert at something, whether it小蝌蚪APP檚 doctoring or skydiving. So, students have to put in a significant amount of time and effort,小蝌蚪APP he said.
小蝌蚪APP淢usic should be something that you小蝌蚪APP檙e just so driven to do that you couldn小蝌蚪APP檛 imagine doing anything else.小蝌蚪APP