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Faculty Awards

College Dean's Awards

The Dean's Faculty Award Program recognizes superior faculty performance in each of the three traditional areas of academic responsibility: teaching, research and service.  Booth College of Business and Professional Studies also recognizes performance in a fourth category, student support. The College of Education and Human Services recognizes faculty for performances in leadership and collaboration.  All full-time faculty holding a board-approved appointment in the University are eligible for the awards.

Governor's Award for Excellence in Education

The Governor's Award for Excellence in Education is presented annually to an outstanding faculty member from each of Missouri's four-year higher education institutions. Recipients are selected based on several criteria: effective teaching, effective advising, service to the university community, commitment to high standards of excellence, and success in nurturing student achievement. Northwest's winner is announced in the fall and receives the award at a reception in Columbia the following spring.

2015 Governor's Award Recipient

The 2015 recipient of the Governor's Award for Excellence in Teaching is Dr. Sue Myllykangas, associate professor of recreation.  The nomination letter below highlights Dr. Myllykangas' exemplary work on behalf of students and Northwest:

Dr. Sue is a tireless worker for the department, college, and university. She is totally committed to student success. Her teaching evaluations for this period are very high and exceed the target established by the department. Sue also taught Freshman Seminar. She is continually involved in a number of teaching improvement activities. She attends workshops and professional development opportunities and is consistently an innovator in instructional methods. She presented at one international conference, one regional conference, and locally as well. She has served as a reviewer and as associate editor for the SCHOLE publication. Dr. Myllykangas was also awarded two Improvement of Teaching grants and maintained her Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist (CTRS) certification.

Dr. Sue is active in both service and student support. She currently serves on two National Recreation and Park Associations (NRPA) committees. She also serves on a number of committees at the department, college, and university level, including faculty senate. Sue is very active with student support activities, including: high quality advisement, thesis committee service, recruitment, retention activities, and a wide variety of student support activities. Sue is an excellent faculty member, focused on student success. She is a fantastic teacher, motivated scholar, and devoted student advocate. Sue’s work and service for the department, college, and university is greatly admired and appreciated.