Board of Governors Award for Excellence in Teaching

On 8 April 1994, The University of North Carolina Board of Governors instituted an award system to underscore the importance of teaching and to encourage, identify, recognize, reward, and support good teaching within the University. The Board directed that each of the sixteen campuses establish awards for teaching excellence and to identify one faculty member per year that clearly exhibits those characteristics that sets them apart from the institution's faculty as a distinguished teacher. Since 1995 when the Board of Governors instituted this teaching awards system, two Department of Management and Accountancy faculty members, Robert Yearout and Claudel McKenzie, have been so honored.

 CITATION

Robert Yearout, Professor of Management and Accountancy, is the 2006 recipient of the University of North Carolina Board of Governors Award for Excellence in Teaching. Since joining the faculty of UNC Asheville in 1988, Dr. Yearout has consistently shown excellence in teaching a wide range of courses, including courses in the Humanities, Management Science, Industrial and Engineering Management and sections of our new Liberal Studies Introductory Colloquia. Additionally, he has served as a mentor for countless undergraduate research students and has been a key player in the Undergraduate Research Program as the editor for the Proceedings Journal and as a member of the Undergraduate Research Program Advisory Council.

Bob has received numerous awards for his teaching and service, most notably the UNC Asheville Distinguished Teacher Award (2000), the Ruth and Leon Feldman Professorship for Scholarship and Service (1996), and the University Distinguished Teaching Award in the Social Sciences (1998). He is widely recognized by students and faculty alike as an exemplary teacher. Bob Yearout has devoted his career at UNC Asheville to superior teaching and to inspiring undergraduates to reach their potential, while maintaining an impressive program of scholarship in his field and service both to the university and to the wider community. A distinguished military graduate of the Virginia Military Academy and the recipient of the Bronze Star for Valor (6 awards), Bob is seen by students as a generous mentor and a role model.

Students and colleagues alike praise his thoughtfulness and his desire to integrate the multiple dimensions of the learning experience. A former student notes, “Sometimes I wonder if it is a result of his military service, but Dr. Yearout has had the ability to teach me things about life that I couldn’t find in a textbook.” Another student agrees, “Professor Yearout’s style and enthusiasm in the subject matter were like a shot of adrenaline…The energy and creativity that (he) brings to the classroom are unrivaled.” One of his colleagues is quoted as saying, “I believe that students sense that he is on their side and that he wants them, by hook or crook, to master the material. Bob sets high standards in his classroom but he tempers his rigor with smiles and a genuine openness.”

I believe that you’ll agree with the assessment of the award committee in viewing Dr. Robert Yearout as one of our very best professors on campus. He thus richly deserves the recognition that will be given to him at the Teaching Awards Luncheon in Chapel Hill on Friday, May 12, 2006.

I know that we will all want to congratulate Dr. Yearout and extend appreciation of his accomplishments and talents in the classroom as well as his service to the University. We will also want to thank the award committee, chaired by Virginia Derryberry, for its careful assessment of all the highly qualified nominees, and regard the many members of the campus community who took time to nominate members of our very talented faculty for this most prestigious award. Celebrating Bob allows us an opportunity to celebrate all of our good teaching at UNC Asheville.

 "It is rare to find her in her office unencumbered by a phone call, a student, or a faculty member, yet she always makes time for anyone waiting." -a former student

CITATION READ BY JOHN C. ROLAND (UNC ASHEVILLE STUDENT)

As a teacher of accounting, Claudel Brooks McKenzie conveys material known for its difficulty and lack of human drama. Yet, her students insist that Professor McKenzie has a gift for making a dry subject relevant and interesting. A sought-after mentor and advisor, Professor McKenzie's teaching reflects her belief that "technical competence is useless unless it can be integrated with knowledge from other disciplines, communicated to the technically unsophisticated, and applied to the world [students] will enter and effect". As a colleague observes, "She is committed not merely to helping students master what she teaches. She works to help them see the ethical dimensions of their future work as accountants, and to connect the technical problems they work on with their context in the world". Under her tutelage, UNC Asheville students regularly post top scores on the state CPA licensure exam. As a tangible reflection of their affection, students in 1989 established the Claudel Brooks McKenzie Honorary Scholarship Fund. A member of the UNC Asheville faculty since 1980 and the 1991 recipient of UNC Asheville's Distinguished Teacher Award, Professor McKenzie graduated from Mars Hill College and holds an MBA from Western Carolina University.