The University of Louisiana at Lafayette Foundation honored four faculty members selected by their colleagues as exemplary educators.
The honorees were recognized at the foundation’s Distinguished Professor Awards banquet on Tuesday at the Cajundome Convention Center.
Charles E. Richard, a professor of English, and Dr. Aghalaya Vatsala, a professor of mathematics, were recognized with this year’s Distinguished Professor Award.
Dr. John Troutman, assistant professor of history, and John Hathorn, professor of painting, received the Dr. Ray P. Authement Excellence in Teaching Award.
The Distinguished Professor Award has been presented since 1965. The Excellence in Teaching Award was established in 1992. It was renamed in 2008 to honor former UL Lafayette President Dr. Ray P. Authement.
The awards, which include a $5,000 stipend, are given yearly to faculty members who are nominated and selected by their peers.
Richard, who is the Joseph P. Montiel/BORSF Professor of English and is director of the Cinematic Arts Workshop, joined the University in 2005.
He helped create the University’s moving Image Arts Program.
Richard is also a screenwriter, director and actor. His writing and film work have earned him national recognition, including the prestigious Dupont-Columbia Award for documentary filmmakers.
“I feel like I can’t really go in and teach students about filmmaking if I’m not making movies,” he says.
Vatsala, who holds the SLEMCO/BORSF Professorship in Sciences II, is an internationally recognized researcher. She joined the University in 1984.
Vatsala has been the managing editor or a member of the editorial board of 11 journals, including the prestigious Nonlinear Analysis: Theory, Methods and Applications. She has written articles that have been published in more than 125 journals, and delivered presentations at national and international conferences.
In 1999, Vatsala was elected to the Russian Academy of Nonlinear Sciences for her research of mathematician Aleksandr Lyapunov’s work.
“My passion is to teach mathematics and do research in mathematics,” Vatsala says.
Troutman, who is the Friends of the Humanities/BORSF Endowed Professor, joined the University in 2005.
In December, he guided students in creating the inaugural exhibit for the Museum on the Move program. The exhibit, “Crossing the Line: Louisiana Women in a Century of Change,” was created inside a vintage 1950’s Airstream trailer.
“As students carry out the tasks that are necessary to create an exhibit and related materials, they’re developing real-life experiences for their resumes,” he says. “A new exhibit will be created each year.”
Hathorn, a senior project coordinator for the Department of Visual Arts, joined the University in 1982.
He is the senior seminar coordinator for eight of the nine concentrations offered by Visual Arts. They include: painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, media arts, metal and jewelry, ceramics and computer animation.
Hathorn received the Distinguished Professor Award in 2008.
“I think I’m incredibly lucky to have found my way into this profession, both as a visual artist and an educator,” he says. “It’s such a privilege to be in a position where you have the ability to touch the lives of an enormous range of individuals.”
Learn more about this year’s recipients of the UL Lafayette Foundation’s Distinguished Professor and Excellence in Teaching awards.