Leading the pack

Carnegie/CASE honors two K-Staters as professors of the year

 

This year, two of K-State’s university distinguished professors have won recognition for their outstanding teaching.

The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education named Chris Sorensen, pictured at left, the national professor of the year for research/doctoral universities and David Littrell, pictured below, the Kansas professor of the year.

Sorensen is a university distinguished professor of physics and Littrell is a university distinguished professor of music.

"It is a tremendous honor to have one professor recognized for this elite teaching award," said K-State President Jon Wefald. "To have both the national and state winner in the same year is phenomenal."

Wefald noted that K-State is the only research/doctoral university in the nation to win both the national and state awards in the same year. K-State is the only Kansas school ever to have had a national professor of the year.

"We have had two national professors of the year -- Dean Zollman, also a university distinguished professor of physics, was the national winner for research/doctoral universities in 1996," Wefald said. "It is also important to note that this year Carnegie honored K-State professors in both the arts and in the sciences."

K-State holds the top spot in Kansas for the Carnegie/CASE awards, and is in the top 10 nationally among all universities, public and private.

K-State’s Carnegie/CASE winners are:

* Richard Consigli, university distinguished professor of biology emeritus, was the first K-State professor to win the award and in both 1985 and 1986 was designated a Silver Award medalist, a level beyond the state winner, which has since been discontinued.

* Miles McKee, university distinguished professor of animal sciences, Kansas winner, 1990

* Deborah Canter, professor of dietetics and head of the department of hotel, restaurant, institution management and dietetics, Kansas winner, 1991

* Melvin Hunt, professor of animal sciences and industry, 1992

* Andrew Barkley, professor of agricultural economics, Kansas winner, 1993.

* Dean Zollman, university distinguished professor of physics, national winner for research/doctoral universities, 1996

* Bryan Schurle, professor and head of agricultural economics, Kansas winner, 2000

* Harald Prins, university distinguished professor of anthropology, Kansas winner, 2006

* Chris Sorensen, university distinguished professor of physics, national winner for research/doctoral universities, 2007. Sorensen is the current Coffman distinguished teaching scholar.

* David Littrell, university distinguished professor of music, Kansas winner, 2007.