Table of Contents
Awards - Outstanding Teachers
Outstanding teachers in each school at The University of Texas Health
Science Center at Houston
have been selected to receive awards.
McGovern Awards
Students choose the John P. McGovern Outstanding Teacher Award winners for stimulating curiosity, promoting professional development and contributing to students’ abilities to think creatively. The awards are made possible by an endowment from the McGovern Foundation. John P. McGovern, M.D., is founder of the McGovern Allergy Clinic and holds faculty appointments at the health science center.
Richard Bebermeyer, D.D.S., professor and vice chair in restorative dentistry and biomaterials, was selected at the Dental Branch. Described by students as “helpful, encouraging and easy to contact,” Bebermeyer teaches clinical general dentistry to advanced students. His teaching and research interests include prevention and health promotion, evidencebased dentistry and practice management.
Bebermeyer earned his dental degree at Washington University in St. Louis. He also earned a Master of Business Administration, specializing in health care administration, from Southern Illinois University.
Russell Broaddus, M.D., Ph.D., is the award recipient for the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. An associate professor of pathology at the UT M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, he was appointed to the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (GSBS) faculty in 2001.
A GSBS alumnus, Broaddus has served on the committees of, or mentored more than 20 students, and he is co-director of the M.D./Ph.D. program. His research focuses on genetic and molecular pathways in development of endometrial cancer.
“Teaching is a passion for him,” a student said. “Dr. Broaddus has emphasized the importance of a broad and deep understanding of science. In his words, his job is not to tell students what he thinks, but to help them understand what they think.”
Another student said, “Dr. Broaddus always exhibits a genuine interest in both the students and their research. His willingness to share knowledge and enthusiasm towards science tend to motivate all those around him.”
Kim Dunn, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor and associate dean for academic affairs, was selected by the students in the School of Health Information Sciences (SHIS).
A practicing general internist, she is a graduate of the M.D./Ph.D. program at the UT Health Science Center. In SHIS she leads the Laboratory for Telehealth and Distributed Computing.
Before joining SHIS, she played a leading role at the UT Medical Branch at Galveston in developing the telemedicine program and outcomes management program for the Texas Prison System. She serves as chief executive officer of the Your Doctor Program, a company with a mission to bring accountability to health care, and she serves as vice president of the Schull Institute, a non-profit organization to mentor future leaders to improve health care for vulnerable populations.
Octavio C. Pinell, M.D., with now his sixth award to his name, has become the Lance Armstrong of the annual John P. McGovern Award competition at the Medical School. Pinell, professor and director of undergraduate education in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, has won the award nearly every other year since he joined the Medical School in 1994.
“Teaching is about sharing knowledge – and that’s what motivates me,” he said. Students who nominated him for this most recent award wrote that they enjoyed his stories, which made remembering lessons easier. “He also always made time for students and welcomed their input,” wrote one student. Pinell teaches students throughout their medical careers, from lectures in the second year to fourth-year electives and directing the department’s clerkship program.
Lowell E. Sever, Ph.D., professor in the Division of Epidemiology and Disease Control, was selected for the second time by the students at the School of Public Health.
In presenting the award, Dean Guy S. Parcel, Ph.D., said, “You have distinguished yourself among your colleagues through your laudable performance as an effective educator. The students feel fortunate to have had the privilege of your guidance and instruction; you have inspired them to learn and think independently, to continue to search for knowledge, to grow professionally, and to take pride in their intellectual development.”
Sever joined the faculty at the School of Public Health in 1998 and won the McGovern Award for the first time in 2000. His research focuses on epidemiology and prevention of birth defects. He was awarded a Fulbright Scholar grant to lecture in the Ukraine in the spring of 2005. He earned his doctorate in biological anthropology at the University of Washington.
Erica Yu, Ph.D., award-winner at the School of Nursing, “taught me not only to care for my patients, but to care about them,” one of her students wrote about her. An assistant professor and instructor in the clinical setting, Yu was described as “very knowledgeable, understands what is going on with each patient and helps students to understand each aspect of patient care, from lab work to nursing diagnosis.”
Another student said, “Her most important quality is her ability to be challenging without being intimidating. She constantly challenged me by asking questions about my patients that forced me to have a deeper understanding of their medical conditions as well as their needs. She helped me to think critically about the nursing care that I was delivering, and about how I could improve.” Yu is coordinator for the nursing school’s simulation laboratory.
Freeman Awards
At the Dental Branch and Medical School, the John Freeman Award for Outstanding Non-Clinical Teaching is a student-chosen award that applauds faculty who demonstrate the most knowledge, competency and enthusiasm in the classroom, along with interest in students outside of the classroom. The awards are made possible by a gift from the late John H. Freeman, a lawyer, original member of the Texas Medical Center Board of Directors and major supporter of the health science center.
James P. Ferguson, D.D.S., associate professor in restorative dentistry and biomaterials, received the award at the Dental Branch. “Teaching in the preclinical courses and clinic has been especially fulfilling for me, especially teaching those students who are having a tough time,” said Ferguson, who began teaching at the school in 1975, the same year he graduated from the Dental Branch.
Students appreciate his efforts. One said, “Dr. Ferguson has spent countless hours putting together PowerPoint slides and other teaching tools to help all of us. He is always encouraging during the learning process. He truly cares about us and has a genuine desire to see all of us succeed.”
Ferguson has received numerous awards for teaching, including a certificate from the D.D.S. Class of 2007, for which he served as course director during their National Board Dental Examination Part I. The class scored well above the national average.
Han Zhang, M.D., a lecturer in the Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy at the Medical School, sees the award as a group effort. “This award is not only for me – it should belong to our teaching group, our department, our school, our students – we all work together to make gross anatomy better and better,” he said.
“I’m excited to win the award,” he said. “I love the students – they are the greatest contribution to my success. I get motivated by their enthusiasm – helping them to do their work makes my job rewarding.”
Zhang came to the Medical School 14 years ago as a visiting scientist do to research on neural mechanisms in learning and memory. In 1999 he began teaching at the Dental Branch and started teaching the Medical School’s anatomy course in 2000. “I’ve been in the anatomy field a long time – I taught gross anatomy for 10 years in China before coming here,” he said. Now he teaches gross anatomy for both the dental and the medical students.
Bruning Award
The Lorna J. Bruning Award for Clinical Teaching Excellence is a student-chosen award that recognizes dental hygiene faculty who demonstrate the most knowledge, competency and enthusiasm for teaching dental hygiene, along with the encouragement of critical thinking. The award was established through the Office of the Dean at the Dental Branch, on the 50th anniversary of the dental hygiene program, to honor the first director, Lorna J. Bruning.
Jayne McWherter, associate professor of periodontics and clinic coordinator for seniors in the School of Dental Hygiene, won the award this year. Students said McWherter “makes you feel confident in your ability as a clinician.”
A graduate of the Dental Branch certificate program in Dental Hygiene, she received her bachelor’s degree in health care sciences from the UT Medical Branch at Galveston. McWherter went on to receive a Master of Education degree from the University of Houston and has served as a full-time faculty member at the Dental Branch for 19 years. She also teaches an online course in the distance education dental hygiene degree completion program through the UT System TeleCampus.
AOA Award
The AOA Volunteer Clinical Faculty Award is given annually to
recognize a community physician who contributes with distinction
to the education and training of clinical students. The recipient is
nominated and chosen by student members of Alpha Omega
Alpha (AOA), a national honor medical society.
Oscar R. Rosales, M.D., clinical associate professor of medicine, believes there are few more meaningful things in life than educating students and watching them grow and develop through the years.
Rosales teaches students at several levels, including third and fourth-year medical students, residents, and cardiology fellows. “I teach the important aspects of clinical medicine and also the care of the patient as a human being,” he said, adding that he teaches students to have professional behavior, collegial demeanor, and absolute respect to the patient and to his or her needs.
“I think that frequent exposure to students keeps you fresh, current, and honest about what you know and what you don’t know,” he said.
DuPont Award
Made possible by a gift from the DuPonts, the Herbert L. and Margaret W. DuPont Master Clinical Teaching Award reflects the Medical School’s priority of clinical medical education. Herbert DuPont, M.D., is the Mary W. Kelsey Professor in the Medical Sciences and director of the Center for Infectious Diseases at the School of Public Health, as well as chief of internal medicine at St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital. Margaret W. “Peggy” DuPont provides administrative oversight to travel health clinics in Mexico where health science center faculty carry out research.
John W. Sparks, M.D., the David R. Park Professor of Pediatrics and director of the Fellowship Program in Neonatology, has been named the winner this year.
Sparks teaches in a variety of settings, such as problem-based learning (PBL), on the neonatal unit at Memorial Hermann Hospital, and at LBJ Hospital. Sparks said he has specifically made time for teaching – especially during his busy tenure as chair of the Department of Pediatrics from 1995-2005. “It’s what being at the Medical School is all about – teaching. Our chief resident for pediatrics for next year was one of my former PBL students. It’s very satisfying to see her and to see others grow professionally after their student days,” he said.
Humanism in Medicine Award
The Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award, sponsored by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation, honors faculty who are exemplary in their compassion and sensitivity in the delivery of care to patients and their families, who administer scientifically excellent clinical care, and who serve as role models to students.
W. Keith Hoots, M.D., professor of pediatrics and director of the Division of Pediatric Hematology at the Medical School, says listening is key to get to the root of a patient’s problem. “The most important thing is to really try to assess what the patient’s real issues are and see if you can intercede.”
During his 26 years teaching at the Medical School, he has developed a philosophy “to try to ascertain what excites individuals and to try to encourage them to explore what excites them most – try to build an enthusiasm for academics,” he said.
Hoots teaches in a clinical setting, rather than a classroom. “I particularly like the kind of teaching I do,” he said. “You get an immediate sense of whether you’re connecting, as opposed to in a classroom where there’s more distance. There’s no ambiguity of whether you’re transmitting the information.”