Nominate your favorite faculty for the Piper Award
TIFFANY FITZPATRICK
The Signal
It’s no secret among students that there’s a different culture at UHCL than there is at most universities.
There’s no such thing as the typical UHCL student. There are students with jobs, families, internships and volunteering obligations. There are students who are incredibly active on campus and students incredibly active in their home communities or former schools. There are students who work, come to class and go home.
Together, students from all the different schools and majors form a community that thrives in its own secret hideaway. Schools and programs are not separated into different buildings. We aren’t separated by academics. There aren’t multiple lounges and cafeterias.
Similarly, there’s no such thing as a typical UHCL faculty member. The people leading the classrooms here are unapologetically human. They admit to having actual lives away from campus and do not judge us for having the same.
Yes, they grade our work and give us assignments we sometimes don’t want; but they treat us with the same respect they give their coworkers. They speak to us like peers, rather than in the condescending tone some students may have grown used to before coming here.
Our professors tend to love their work to the point where they don’t want to force you to learn it. They want you to actually want to learn it. They want it to be interesting for you. They try to build excitement over assignments and their success rate is higher than most.
That’s what makes the professors at UHCL different – they aren’t in this to chase down awards and recognition.
So when we’re given the opportunity to give them some of the attention they unfailingly offer us, we probably should.
Being nominated by the university for the Minnie Stevens Piper Award is a huge honor. Each university only sends one nominee to the state level.
This award isn’t for research or speaking ‘academic’ really well – it’s for excellence in teaching.
The student nominations are an important part of the selection process. This is the chance to give the professor who’s always went out of his or her way to help you some well-deserved recognition.
The nomination form is available here for download, or you can find forms and boxes for them located at the main entrance of all UHCL buildings.
Forms are due by noon, Sept. 27.
