2014 Faculty Award for Teaching Excellence
Deborah C. Bebout
Professor Bebout is one of only three faculty members in the Chemistry Department teaching a Freshman Seminar, a mode of instruction that does not always come naturally to those in the physical sciences, and she has done this very well according to her students. She altered the format of her Advanced Biochemistry course, which can be considered a type of capstone course, from a traditional lecture course to one where students stay abreast of the forefront of the discipline by reading original journal articles and presenting the research in class. Much of the course content comes from these presentations, providing students with an experience that will serve them extremely well in the future. Her teaching of the difficult second semester course of general chemistry for life science majors also deserves high praise and regularly wins students' appreciation. Also noteworthy is that teaching in chemistry involves mentoring students in research, and she has excelled in this regard with both graduate and undergraduate students. It is fitting that she now be recognized with the Arts and Sciences 2014 Faculty Award for Teaching Excellence.
