College of Letters and Science Distinguished Teaching Awards 2019
Faculty Recognized for Excellence in Teaching
In June, the UC Davis College of Letters and Science awarded four faculty with its annual Distinguished Teaching Awards, which recognize excellence in teaching and mentoring across the disciplines.
Ethan Anderes
Associate Professor of Statistics
Ethan Anderes teaches Statistics 13 (Elementary Statistics) to around 400 students and Statistics 103 (Applied Statistics for Business and Economics) to around 200 students. At the same time, he has taught the optional Ph.D. sequence in Probability Theory. Anderes was named a UC Davis Chancellor's Fellow in 2015.
“Anderes was one of my favorite professors in all of my years at UC Davis. Not only does he exceed the majority of the rest of the stats department in teaching ability by far, he's a really genuine guy who cares about his students and wants everyone to learn and do well.” - Student
Rex Stem
Associate Professor of Classics
Rex Stem teaches a wide range of courses, from large lecture courses Classics 3 (Rome and the Mediterranean) and Classics 10 (Greek, Roman and near Eastern mythology) to smaller upper division courses in Latin and in classics, and the senior seminar. For many years, he has led the classics post-baccalaureate program for a small number of students who all move on to Ph.D. programs.
“Great lecturer; he really packed it on. Loved the humor and passion. I can tell that what he teaches really means a lot to him. Very fair and clear guidelines, and makes you earn your grade. Discussions were always interesting and engaging. Without a doubt, one of the best classes and professors I've gotten so far.” - Student
Bryan Enderle
Lecturer in Chemistry
Bryan Enderle teaches Chemistry 2A, 2B and 2C (general chemistry) to 400-500 students at a time. These course are popular even at 7 or 8 a.m. Enderle has developed new demonstrations and a YouTube channel. He is the laboratory coordinator for 200 lab sections and 90 TAs per quarter. He trains the graduate TAs and has prepared the online laboratory program Chemelements.
“My goal is to pique the interest of every student in the classroom so they may taste the relevance of chemistry in their learning and their life. To do so, the classroom is used to maximize the learning experience through excellent lectures, relevant examples, fascinating chemical demonstrations, and engaging interactive components. The classroom experience must be the perfect nexus of learning and increased curiosity.” - Enderle
Sally McKee
Professor of History
Sally McKee teaches European history plus new courses such as Food History. McKee has also taught a summer abroad course and at the UC Washington Center. At the graduate level, she has served as graduate program chair and taught the yearlong graduate research seminar. Her teaching introduces students to the convergence of cultures in the history of politics, art, religion and food.
“Sally is a great professor. … The class is organized very well. She tries to engage the class more by being personable and bringing in guest lecturers.” - Student
2018 Recipients
- Kathleen Frederickson, English
- Jesus De Loera, Mathematics
- Amber Boydston, Political Science
- Janine Wilson, Economics