The Elsie M. Hood Outstanding Teacher Award has been recognizing teaching excellence at the University of Mississippi since 1966. This year’s winner will be chosen soon, and the award committee is accepting nominations through March 1.
Assistant, associate and full-time professors who are not previous winners are eligible for the Elsie M. Hood Award. A selection committee of eight previous recipients, the alumni affairs director and a student representative selects the winner.
Nomination letters, which should not exceed 500 words, should describe specific examples of inspirational teaching. Letters that have been submitted for nominees in previous years also may be considered by the selection committee
“Receiving the award was a great honor because I highly respect so many of the prior recipients,” said William Berry, associate professor of law and the 2013 recipient of the award. “I know how much this university values good teaching.”
The winner of the award gets a personal plaque and a $5,000 cash prize, and has their name engraved on a plaque in the John D. Williams Library.
“I think the Elsie M. Hood Award provides an outward representation of the view the university has concerning teaching,” Berry said. “At the University of Mississippi, there is a faculty culture that takes classroom teaching seriously and values the growth and development of students academically and intellectually.”
Previous winners of the award include Mark Wilder, Laurdella Foulkes-Levy, David Willson, Gregory Schirmer, John Neff, Kelly G. Wilson, Ethel Young-Minor, John O’Haver, Ann Fisher-Wirth and Bob Brown.
Faculty, students, and alumni are invited to submit their nominations to the Chancellor’s Office, 123 Lyceum, by 5 p.m. March 1. The winner will be introduced April 7 at the university’s 73rdt annual Honors Day Convocation.
