The Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching recognizes full-time, regular faculty members of the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) who have demonstrated exceptional accomplishments in teaching. Award winners must have held faculty status at UAB for a minimum of three years and may receive the award only once in any three-year period.
The CAS Excellence in Teaching Committee selected award recipients for being outstanding representatives of effective teaching and thoughtful pedagogy from the Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Social and Behavioral Sciences, and Arts and Humanities.
Natural Sciences and Mathematics: Michelle Wooten, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics
Wooten joined the UAB Department of Physics in 2021. She helped establish and serves as the faculty mentor for the UAB Astronomy Club, works with campus-wide partners to address light pollution, facilitates service learning projects, and embraces the intersection between the arts and sciences. She is also known nationally for her Safe and Healthy Illumination of the Nighttime Environment (SHINE) Lab, and for her work with Starry Skies South where she serves as the DarkSky International Chapter Leader. Through her engaging courses, Wooten has reached numerous students, exposing a wide range of majors to the wonders of astronomy. One student noted in her nomination letter: “She brings a contagious passion for astronomy, blending complex scientific concepts with real-world applications and artistic expression. Her approach to teaching not only made challenging topics accessible but also cultivated a sense of wonder and curiosity among us.”
Social and Behavioral Sciences: Brandon Blankenship, J.D., Teaching Assistant Professor in the J. Frank Barefield, Jr. Department of Criminal Justice
Blankenship is a teaching assistant professor in the J. Frank Barefield, Jr. Department of Criminal Justice, and he serves as the director of the UAB Pre-Law Program. In the Pre-Law Program, Blankenship mentors, advises, and empowers students who aim to pursue law school and legal careers after graduation. Through the Legal Affairs Minor, the award-winning Mock Trial Team, and the Legal Lab, he finds creative, hands-on opportunities to educate his students and help them build transferable skills that will be valuable after graduation. He also connects his students to practicing lawyers, ensuring they hear from these professionals and develop strong professional networks along the way. In addition, he is an avid proponent of service learning, building connections and partnerships with organizations like Redemption Earned. One of his colleagues shared the following about his approach to working with students: “Brandon employs a student-centered approach in his classrooms. Students become the architects of their experiences.”
Arts and Humanities: Lindsay Brainard, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in the Department of Philosophy
Brainard came to UAB’s Department of Philosophy in 2020. She teaches courses on Ethics; Science, Knowledge, and Reality; Philosophy of Creativity; and more. In addition, she teaches one of the most popular courses in CAS: “Taylor Swift and Philosophy.” She is an engaging teacher in the classroom—often receiving high ratings from her students. According to one of her colleagues, her average rating—after teaching over 20 courses—is a 4.8 out of 5. She is also an acclaimed scholar, receiving the 2024 Article Prize from the American Philosophical Association for her article, “The Curious Case of Uncurious Creation.” In terms of her impact in the classroom, a student nominator shared the following: “I don’t know how UAB managed to recruit her, but I am so incredibly excited to know that other undergraduates will have the opportunity to learn from such a passionate, knowledgeable, and pedagogically skilled instructor.”
