Donald Jicha, professor of chemistry, and Arrel Toews, research professor of biochemistry, have received Johnston Undergraduate Teaching Excellence Awards.
The award was established in 1990 by trustees of the James M. Johnston Awards Program to reward excellence in undergraduate teaching. Jicha and Toews each will receive $5,000.
Nominations for the award are suggested by Johnston Scholars, which a panel of scholars then approves. Final selections are made by the Chancellor's Committee on Undergraduate Teaching, which also selects the winners for the Tanner and Graduate Teaching Assistant Awards.
Jicha
Students and colleagues who nominated Jicha called him the heart and soul of the chemistry department because of his commitment to undergraduate teaching.
Students noted that Jicha emphasizes learning, not just in class, but outside class as well, through his extended office hours and review sessions, even on Saturdays and Sundays.
"He clearly emphasizes understanding of concepts over memorization of formulas," one student noted.
Jicha, who is also an associate dean of the General College, joined the chemistry department as an instructor in 1960.
A two-time recipient of the Tanner Award for excellence in undergraduate teaching--in 1966 and 1990--Jicha consistently receives superior class evaluations. He directs the freshman chemistry laboratories and was instrumental in updating their course content.
Toews
Toews' students praise him for his exceptional ability to present course material in an exciting way, but without compromising the rigors of science.
"I appreciated his humor and delight in getting us to understand biochemical principles and apply them to every day events," wrote one student nominator. "I especially liked the way his own culinary interests became minor themes in our weekly lab readings!"
Toews came to Carolina in 1976 as a postdoctoral fellow in the Biological Sciences Research Center and began teaching the next year as a research instructor in the School of Medicine's biochemistry department. He is currently the course director, lecturer and laboratory instructor for biochemistry, courses for students interested in nursing and health-care oriented fields.
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