Dean’s Honor Day: Master Teacher Award
Michael Jennings, Ph.D.
The annual College of Medicine Dean’s Honor Awards were held April 24. Jennings, who has served as professor and chair of the Department of Physiology and Biophysics since 1995, was honored for his advocacy of the active learning methods and integrated curriculum for first- and second-year medical students that the College of Medicine has today.
Gwen Childs, Ph.D., professor and chair of the Department of Neurobiology and Developmental Sciences, noted Jennings’ eagerness to champion curriculum reform, starting in the early 2000s, in addition to his other leadership roles and responsibilities and his work as an active researcher internationally known for his work in the mechanisms of ion transport.
“Dr. Jennings was an early and effective advocate for moving us toward a more integrated, active, organ-based curriculum for M1s and M2s,” Childs said. “He understood the need to better engage and integrate our students in the learning process.”
In addition to formal roles on committees, Jennings was effective in getting faculty members on board with curriculum advancements and methodologies such as problem-based learning, team-based learning and hands-on simulation education as the college shifted from traditional lecture-focused education, Childs said.
Congratulations Leslie!
Leslie Climer successfully defended her doctoral thesis entitled Lets Get Kracken: Anchoring the COG Complex to Golgi Membranes on Monday, April 16, 2018.
Congratulations Jessica!
Jessica Bailey Blackburn successfully defended her doctoral thesis entitled Maintaining Order: What COG Complex Knockouts and Other Gycosylation Mutants Reveal About Golgi Trafficking, Processing, and Sorting on Tuesday, April 10, 2018.