Academy of Distinguished Teachers

The Academy

The Academy is a formal organization of distinguished scholars of the first order recognized for teaching excellence, who are committed to the advancement of teaching and learning across UT Tyler.

The goals of the Academy are:

To advocate for, promote, and celebrate teaching excellence at UT Tyler.
To serve as a University-level advisory and advocacy group dedicated to fostering classroom innovation and teaching excellence.
To facilitate the sharing of best practices in teaching across disciplines, colleges, and departments through workshops, seminars, discussion panels, etc.
To promote an understanding of the complex and diverse nature of discovery, teaching, and learning and the importance of scholarly and creative activity to the learning process.
To foster the integration of the scholarship of teaching and learning with the scholarship of discovery to reinforce a culture of teacher-scholars.
To provide a forum that brings together faculty, staff, and students to share opportunities for learning about discovery, teaching, and learning.

Bylaws

Events

Please filter “Academy of Distinguished Teachers” results on the Professional Development Calendar for upcoming Academy events.

Annual Reports

Explore the ADT Annual Report to learn how the UT Tyler Academy is advancing teaching excellence and learning across the institution through engagement, mentorship, networking, and new membership!

Background

During the spring of 2015, President Rodney Mabry approved the creation of The University of Texas at Tyler’s Academy of Distinguished Teachers (the Academy) to recognize and honor outstanding teaching. The original proposal developed by Dr. Neil Gray, Fellow of the University of Texas System Academy of Distinguished Teachers and Dr. Ross Sherman, interim provost, stated:

“The Academy will recognize UT Tyler educators who have demonstrated leadership in education and are committed to improving learning across the university. The Academy will encourage and help sustain pedagogical excellence at UT Tyler by serving as role models for their colleagues, fostering research on university teaching and learning, and advising the institution on teaching policies and practices.”

Membership

Eligible members in the Academy will represent only the very best teachers at The University of Texas at Tyler. The requirements for membership in the Academy will be of the highest order. The Academy is intended to be an elite organization, with membership based on excellence in teaching at the undergraduate or graduate levels combined with extraordinary contributions to the educational mission of UT Tyler.

Categories of Membership:

“Founding Fellow” ‐ members of the original cohort of academy members inducted in 2015.
“Fellow” ‐ member who maintains active participation as reflected in the Bylaws.
“Associate Fellow” ‐ member who fails to maintain active participation in the Academy or fails to maintain a distinguished record of teaching excellence, as well as a record of promoting continuous development of teaching excellence and improvement among their colleagues.
“Emeritus Fellow” ‐ a Fellow/Founding Fellow who has resigned or retired from The University of Texas at Tyler.

Membership selection criteria and procedures are outlined in the ADT CALL FOR APPLICATIONS.

To learn more about the Regents' Outstanding Teaching Awards please visit the UT System website: https://www.utsystem.edu/offices/academic-affairs/regents-outstanding-teaching-awards

Academy Mentoring Program (AMP)

The Academy Mentoring Program (AMP) is a formal mentorship program that promotes teaching excellence at the undergraduate and graduate level. AMP Mentees are paired with ADT Faculty Fellows from various academic disciplines who serve as Mentors in teaching excellence. The mentor-mentee relationship is one of advocacy for teaching excellence, classroom innovation, and best practices; through shared opportunities of discovery, teaching, and learning.

Selection criteria and procedures are outlined in the AMP APPLICATION.