Darden College of Education Announces 2008-09 Faculty Awards

Sheri Colberg-Ochs, professor of exercise science - Largest Grant Award and the Publications Award. Colberg-Ochs received more than $1 million in grant funds as a principal investigator or co-PI. She has also been active in applying for almost $4 million in additional grant funding. Most of her efforts relate to diabetes and physical activity research. Also the college's most productive faculty member in terms of publishing last year, she wrote eight refereed articles and three books. She has become a nationally recognized authority on the topic of diabetes, athletics, sport and fitness.

Charlene Fleener, associate professor of teaching and learning, and Jack Robinson, associate professor of educational foundations and leadership - Most Collaborative Grant Award. The award was made in recognition of a $110,000 State Council of Higher Education for Virginia grant they received, titled "Integrating Assessment and Literacy Instruction for Powerful Learning." The focus of the grant was to use authentic problem-based learning in science as a basis for integrating reading and writing skills in the areas of nonfiction and expository text.

Ginger Watson, associate professor of instructional design and technology/modeling and simulation - New Investigator Grant Award. In recent years, Watson has been a principal investigator or co-PI on a number of innovative grants in the areas of modeling and simulation, using virtual settings for the research. Her grant funding and applications have resulted in more than $3 million of grant activity. Some of her research has been in the area of crash assessment.

Edwin Gomez, associate professor of recreation and tourism studies - Teaching Innovation and Excellence Award. In recent years, Gomez has consistently received high scores on student evaluations of his teaching performance. Peer observations of his classroom teaching have also resulted in high ratings.

Dennis Gregory, associate professor of educational foundations and leadership - Service Award. This is one of the college's more competitive awards. Gregory has served on six journal review boards, as editor of one journal and as a committee member for seven national professional organizations. Last year he chaired the college's Faculty Governance Committee. At the department level, he is a member of several dissertation committees. He also provides service and consulting to local civic and educational groups.

John Nunnery, associate professor of educational foundations and leadership - Sara and Rufus Tonelson Award. The award recognizes an outstanding record in teaching, research, publication and service. Nunnery regularly contributes technical reports and monographs to national organizations. He also presents refereed papers at national conferences and serves as a reviewer for selected national journals. His grant activities have resulted in more than $400,000 in funding. His teaching portfolio evaluations consistently include high ratings, and he is active in terms of service at many levels. He has served as chair of the college's Human Subjects Committee and vice chair of its Faculty Governance Committee.

Amy Adcock, assistant professor of STEM education and professional studies - Instructional Publications Award. Adcock has published articles, both peer- and non-peer-reviewed, and made refereed paper presentations at a number of professional conferences. In almost every instance, the underlying theme of the articles or presentations has been the enhancement of teaching techniques and/or student learning situations.