Four Health Science Center faculty members have been selected for membership in The University of Texas Academy of Health Science Education. The academy is an organization of distinguished scholars recognized for their outstanding teaching abilities. The goal of the organization is to enhance health science education.
The four honorees include:
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Larry Barnes, Ph.D., professor of biochemistry and associate dean of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
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Darlene Metter, M.D., associate professor in the School of Medicine’s department of radiology
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Linda Smith, Ph.D., C.L.S. (N.C.A.), professor and director of the graduate program in the School of Allied Health Sciences
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Craig Witz, M.D., associate professor and chief of the division of reproductive endocrinology and infertility in the School of Medicine’s department of obstetrics and gynecology.
Dr. BarnesDr. Barnes has taught at the Health Science Center for nearly 30 years in both formal and didactic courses, and informal laboratory settings. Over his career, he has taught high school, graduate and dental students, as well as postdoctoral fellows and medical residents. He received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1988 and the Dean’s Award for Exceptional Graduate Teaching in 2003.
Dr. MetterDr. Metter was selected for her expertise in educational administration and leadership. She was the 2006 gubernatorial appointee to the Texas Radiation Advisory Board for the Governor of Texas. She has served on the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and is the chair of the Nuclear Medicine Residency Review Committee. Dr. Metter also is a 2007 fellow of the American College of Radiology and is a recent past president of the Academic Council for the Society of Nuclear Medicine. In addition, she also has served on the American Board of Radiology's Oral Board as an examiner and item writer.
Dr. SmithDr. Smith, who was just named a Piper Professor by The Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation, played a major role in developing the graduate program in the School of Allied Health Sciences. As chair of the National Credentialing Agency for Laboratory Personnel’s examination council, Dr. Smith manages the development of the test bank for the certification exam and leads the job analysis that is used to develop the test questions. Dr. Smith received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1991, the Texas Association of Clinical Laboratory Science Educator of the Year Award in 1995 and the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science Sherwood-Davis & Geck Professional Achievement Award in Education in 1996.
Dr. WitzDr. Witz has received numerous awards for teaching, including the American Professors of Gynecology and Obstetrics Excellence in Teaching Award in 1998, the Presidential Award for Teaching Excellence in 1999 and eight awards from medical school classes at the Health Science Center from 1997 through 2006. He also was named the Top Obstetrician and Gynecologist by the Consumer Research Council of America in 2004-2005. In addition, he was listed among the Best Doctors in San Antonio in 2005 and in Texas Monthly’s Texas Super Doctors listing in 2006.
To be selected, nominees must be outstanding teachers in The UT health science system either as teachers, in curriculum development, counseling and mentorship, educational administration and leadership, or educational scholarship and research. The honorees will be inducted during the Innovations in Health Science Education conference in Austin Oct. 10-11.
