Waterloo native is $2,000 richer after winning teaching award

An associate professor at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville recently received $2,000 for winning the university’s annual Teaching Excellence Award for tenure-track faculty. It’s the most prestigious teaching award for an SIUE faculty member, according to a news release.

“I am honored to receive this recognition,” McKenzie Ferguson, a Waterloo native, said in a news release. “Much of my success is due to the support and mentorship I received from others. I have truly been fortunate to work alongside some outstanding mentors and faculty at SIUE.”

Ferguson, who joined the SIUE faculty in 2009, also serves as the director of the Drug Information and Wellness Center. She will be recognized during SIUE’s May graduation and will be nominated for the Council of Advancement and Support of Education for the National Professor of the Year Award.

“Dr. McKenzie Ferguson is an exceptional teacher and mentor,” Gireesh Gupchup, dean of the School of Pharmacy, said in a news release. “Students have commented that her innovative teaching methods keep the class enthralled and help with making class material extremely relevant to pharmacy practice. She is a true role model, and we are very fortunate to have a teacher of her caliber at SIUE.”

Two additional SIUE faculty members were honored with Teaching Distinction Awards, and five more received Teaching Recognition Awards.

Teaching Distinction Awards went to Mary Plocher and Amelia Perez, who will receive $1,500 and $500 prizes, respectively.

Plocher, a Highland native, is an instructor in the Department of Social Work in the College of Arts and Sciences. Perez is an associate professor in the School of Nursing.

The following individuals were honored with Teaching Recognition Awards: Johanna Schmitz, associate professor in the Department of Theater and Dance; Nader Panahshahi, professor of civil engineering within the School of Engineering; specialist Brent Vaughn in the School of Engineering; instructor Jean LaFollette in the School of Nursing; and Miranda Wilhelm, associate clinical professor in the School of Pharmacy. All awardees receive $250.

This story was originally published April 11, 2017 at 8:00 AM with the headline "Waterloo native is $2,000 richer after winning teaching award."