Burgeoning academy of top educators welcomes new round of honorees
Published on Monday, December 18, 2023
By: Gary Pettus, gpettus@umc.edu
Photos By: Jay Ferchaud/ UMMC Photography
More than 80 accomplished faculty members collected another testament to their gift for teaching Monday as inductees into The Academy for Excellence in Education at the University of Mississippi Medical Center.
Dr. Stephen Stray, professor of cell and molecular biology and current president of the academy, described the occasion as a “great day for the academy and [UMMC] in general” during the tribute to teachers and campus leaders he called “the cream of the crop.”
In his welcoming remarks, Dr. Stephen Stray, current academy president and professor of cell and molecular biology, pays tribute to members of the academy: teachers and campus leaders he called “the cream of the crop.”
This year’s 84 initiates joined the roster of 90 inaugural inductees listed on the website of the academy, which was born last year under the auspices of the Office of Academic Affairs – led by Dr. Scott Rodgers, associate vice chancellor for academic affairs, and Dr. Natalie Gaughf, assistant vice chancellor for academic affairs.
“Why an academy?” Rodgers said during his keynote address. Referring to its declared mission, Rodgers said, “UMMC is at its best and strongest when all our campus schools support each other, work together and applaud each other’s successes.
“Members have demonstrated outstanding teaching ability and understand why it’s important for students to be fully prepared for what awaits them in their professions.
“The academy promotes a sharing of ideas and deepens connections to create a community of educators dedicated to the education mission of UMMC with the hope that its members will become even better educators.”
Dr. Scott Rodgers delivers the keynote address during the induction ceremony for The Academy for Excellence in Education, dedicated to creating “something meaningful and transformative at UMMC."
During the ceremony, the new members received their academy certificates and pins at the Norman C. Nelson Student Union whose namesake is also profoundly linked to the academy by virtue of the Norman C. Nelson Order of Teaching Excellence: Named for the late Dr. Norman Nelson, former vice chancellor for health affairs and dean of the School of Medicine, the honor society served as a starting point for membership in the academy when it began.
Subsequent Nelson Order selectees are also eligible for academy membership, as are faculty members nominated by their respective department chairs, as are winners of the Trailblazer Award for Excellence in Medical Student Education.
They are part of an organization dedicated to creating “something meaningful and transformative at UMMC,” Rodgers said.
Not just a hall of fame, the academy has become part of the Medical Center’s scholarly lifeblood. With its connection to the Office of Academic Affairs, it serves as a faculty support resource for a number of opportunities involving learning, professional development and career preparation. Among them:
Dr. Mitzi Norris, left, executive director for academic compliance, effectiveness and institutional research, and a member of the Doctor of Health Administration faculty in the School of Health Related Professions, is welcomed to the academy by fellow inductee, Dr. Rob Rockhold, professor emeritus of pharmacology/toxicology and chair of the academy's membership committee.
- The Robin W. Rockhold Lecture on Leadership, named for Dr. Robin Rockhold, former deputy chief academic officer, professor emeritus of pharmacology and toxicology, and the academy’s membership committee chair. Its inaugural lecture, in April, was “Asylum Hill: Understanding Our Past, Serving Our Future,” by Dr. Ralph Didlake, director of the Center for Bioethics and Medical Humanities, who outlined the history and current developments related to the former State Hospital for the Insane, which sat on what is now Medical Center acreage
- The Student Success Series (S3), which fosters excellence for students in the health sciences.
- Faculty Focus, which promotes faculty professional development.
The academy will also support the UMMC Museum of Medical History, scheduled for launch in 2024, and the Medical Center’s first-ever Honors College for high-achieving students – also planned to debut next year.
For an institution perceived by many as an exemplar of patient care or research, the emergence of the academy is a testament to its critical – even central – role as a center for education as well, Rodgers said.
“People in our community and elsewhere are surprised to learn that we as an institution are so wide-ranging. We have to tell our story consistently and with vigor and pride.”
The academy will help tell that story, he said. “And, through those who were inducted last year and today, we have a core group of educators who will take us where we need to go.”