Two faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences are among 10 Texas A&M University faculty selected as 2024 recipients of the Provost Academic Professional Track (APT) Faculty Teaching Excellence Award, announced Wednesday (Dec. 20) by the Texas A&M Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE).
Chemistry professor Dr. Daniel Collins and biology professor Dr. Asha Rao each received the coveted honor, created in 2019 by the CTE to encourage, recognize and reward faculty recipients for exceptional teaching practices that create meaningful learning experiences for students. The award is intended to illustrate both the impact of an effective teaching approach and the value of student-centered learning.
In addition to retaining the perpetual award title for life, Collins and Rao each will receive a $5,000 cash stipend to support their respective teaching programs and related professional development.
Collins, an instructional associate professor in the Department of Chemistry, and Rao, an instructional professor in the Department of Biology, are among 16 current faculty members in the College of Arts and Sciences to receive the coveted honor, which was established by the CTE in 2019 through a gift from the Marie M. and James H. Galloway Foundation to encourage, recognize and reward faculty recipients for exceptional teaching practices that create meaningful learning experiences for students. The award is intended to illustrate both the impact of an effective teaching approach and the value of student-centered learning.
Collins joined the Texas A&M faculty in 2015 after earning his Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of South Carolina in 2012 and subsequent teaching stints at South Carolina (2012-2013) and Florida State University (2013-2015). As a member of the First Year Program in Texas A&M Chemistry, his teaching specialties are introductory chemistry, organic chemistry service courses and Hullabaloo U First Year Experience courses. To date, Collins has served as an instructor to more than 10,000 undergraduate students, including hundreds he has mentored through the Hullabaloo U program. Earlier in 2023, he was honored as Texas A&M’s second recipient of the Outstanding Advocate for First-Year Students Award in recognition of his commitment to student success and his best-practice efforts to improve their initial experiences in Aggieland.
In addition to his teaching prowess, Collins is equally dedicated to university service and educational outreach. He is a co-coordinator for the Texas A&M Chemistry Outreach Program and, prior to that appointment, served for seven years as Texas A&M Chemistry’s mole mascot. During the past eight years, he has been a member of the Faculty Senate, the Academic Professional Track (APT) Faculty Committee, the Aggie Honor Council, the University Discipline Appeals and Academic Appeals Panels and the former College of Science Dean’s Advisory Council. He has also judged numerous science fairs and competitions, including the Texas Junior Science and Humanities Symposium, Texas Junior Academy of Science and Texas Science and Engineering Fair. In addition, Collins assists with the Department of Energy National Science Bowl regional and national competitions as well as the Chemistry Roadshow. He is also a member of the Chemistry Communications Committee.
Collins’ previous career awards thus far in his career include a 2022 Texas A&M Association of Former Students Distinguished Achievement Award in Teaching, the 2020 McGraw-Hill ALEKS All-Star Educator of the Year Award and the 2019 Honoring Excellence Award from the Texas A&M Department of Residence Life. He also was honored as a 2019 Fish Camp namesake.
“I am delighted that Dan has been recognized with this award, which highlights amazing APT faculty," said Dr. Simon W. North, John W. Bevan Professor of Chemistry and head of Texas A&M Chemistry. "His enthusiasm for teaching and unbounded energy in the classroom are remarkable.”
Rao, Texas A&M Class of 1996, earned both her master’s degree and doctorate in entomology from Texas A&M in 1996 and 2002, respectively. She was both a postdoctoral researcher and assistant research scientist in the Texas A&M Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering prior to joining the Texas A&M Biology faculty in 2011, where her research is focused on agricultural plant science, environmental science and animal science.
Rao served two years as a laboratory instructor before moving exclusively to the classroom as a lecturer, subsequently earning promotion to senior lecturer in 2017. A 2020 Presidential Professor for Teaching Excellence Award recipient, she is director of undergraduate curriculum for Texas A&M Biology and the department's Science Peer Learning Center as well as a co-faculty advisor along with Texas A&M biologist Dr. Tom McKnight for BioFirst, a learning community established in fall 2018 to provide academic success and service-related resources for first-generation biology freshmen during their critical first year at Texas A&M. In addition, she was a key member of the joint faculty committee from Texas A&M Biology and the Texas A&M University Libraries responsible for implementing the free, online Texas A&M OpenStax Biology textbook that has saved Texas A&M students enrolled in introductory biology courses more than $600,000 per year since 2017. Rao completed work for a grant she secured to improve the textbook’s quality, teaming with Texas A&M Biology Associate Head for Academics Dr. Wayne Versaw to replace or refine more than 100 illustrations identified as providing poor content and/or projection resolutions.
A 2018 National Academies Education Fellow, Rao was honored with a 2019 Texas A&M Association of Former Students College-Level Distinguished Achievement Award in Teaching. She also received the Texas A&M Office of Sustainability’s 2019 Faculty Sustainability Champion Award for her efforts to promote recycling across her department.
"Dr. Rao impacts all areas of the department's teaching mission," said Dr. Alex C. Keene, professor and head of Texas A&M Biology. "She has started programs, including BioFirst and the Science Peer Learning Center, that support thousands of students each year. She is a tireless advocate for improving the undergraduate experience across campus. But what stands out the most is the deep appreciation her students have for her, and how her courses nurture a love for science and learning."
Collins and Rao are among 16 current Texas A&M Arts and Sciences faculty honored thus far as APT Faculty Teaching Excellence Award recipients, joining Dr. Catharina Laporte (Anthropology); Dr. Don Conlee (Atmospheric Sciences); Dr. Andrew Tag ( Biology); Dr. Holly Gaede, Dr. Joanna Goodey-Pellois, Dr. Soon Mi Lim and Dr. James Pennington (Chemistry); Dr. Claire Carly-Miles and Dr. Terri Pantuso (English); Dr. Salah Ayari (Global Languages and Cultures); Dr. Oksana Shatalov (Mathematics); Dr. Christina Wiederwohl (Oceanography); Dr. Tatiana Erukhimova (Physics and Astronomy) and Dr. Judith Linneman (Sociology).