The University of Texas at Austin’s Pharmacy Council virtually honored the College of Pharmacy’s deserving faculty and announced the winners of 2020’s Teaching Excellence Awards. Student pharmacists of all levels nominated their favorite teachers, and Pharmacy Council declared the winner.
Class of 2023 Winner
Dr. Christian Whitman
“Dr. Whitman taught in a way that engaged me throughout every single class period and allowed me to learn the material in a way I had never experienced before. He was extremely prepared for every class, and allowed everyone the necessary time to absorb the information, so that we will be able to use what we learned for the entirety of our careers.
Dr. Whitman’s class was the highlight of last semester for me! He taught very efficiently, teaching us a wide range of knowledge, without making it stressful or overwhelming for students!”
Class of 2022 Winner
Dr. Ken Lawson
“Dr. Lawson is incredibly kind. His sweet nature always allows positive interactions. He goes out of his way to either answer questions, gather information or to hear your side of the story.”
“Each time I meet with him to do research, he always listens and offers advice regarding my professional and personal growth. He never hesitates to offer resources or contacts to help me along my career path. He has been the professor who I feel cares most about my professional development.”
Class of 2021 Winner
Dr. Patrick Davis
“Dr. Davis has had a huge impact on my education throughout my time here at UTCOP, whether he has been teaching the course, been the course coordinator, or both. Every time he teaches, he teaches with such passion and vigor and it gets you excited about the subject. His teaching methods make lasting impacts that cause you to remember the material long after the class.
He has expanded my knowledge greatly in infectious disease, med chem, and shown me how I want to be in my profession – full of passion for my profession and what it entails.”
Outstanding Teaching Assistant
Dr. Andrew Wash
“Andrew goes above and beyond expectations when teaching students – whether it is a conversation about clarifying something in his research or explaining a concept in PT lab. I feel very comfortable asking him questions and asking for feedback.”
Outstanding Faculty Advisor
Dr. Claire Latiolais
“Dr. Latiolais has gone out of her way to help me navigate the ASHP internship application. She has also contacted others to help me figure out how to start a pediatric organization here.She continues to check in to see how I am progressing along in my pharmacy school career.
I’ve noticed she is always helping students by connecting them with others and help reach their goals.”
IPPE Preceptor of the Year
Dr. Zachary Lewitz
“Dr. Lewitz helped me learn about community pharmacy. This was my first time at a community pharmacy and he taught me many new things. This last semester was very heavy in work. There were times where I was very tired. My preceptor was very flexible with me.”
Pharmacy Educator of the Year
Dr. Kristin Janzen
“Dr. Janzen stepped up last semester and taught us material that she was not originally expected to teach. In one professor’s absence, she fell right in and never missed a beat.
She made learning easy and always broke down the information into its simplest parts. Dr. Janzen gave us reasoning for clinical decisions and was always consistent with her teaching. I appreciate how she told us differences in practice vs textbook. She is one of the only professors for whom I ‘strongly agreed’ to ‘overall I learned a great deal’ in our course evaluations.”
Congratulations to all the winners and nominees!
Download the full presentation to see all the nominees, Celebration of Service Awards, and Student Superlatives.
Special thanks to Pharmacy Council’s Shankari Sureshbabu and Isha Deshpande for creating the presentation and officially announcing the winners.