Six members of the Texas A&M University faculty were honored with the University Professorships for Undergraduate Teaching Excellence (UPUTE), awards conferred upon the most accomplished teachers of undergraduates at the university. These professors are not only exceptional instructors, but also are innovators in pedagogy, exploring new teaching methods, and seeking engagement with other educators in pursuit of excellence.
University Professorships for Undergraduate Teaching Excellence carry a three-year monetary award and a bursary to support teaching and expand opportunities for professional development. Faculty members who are selected for these professorships are expected to be actively involved in faculty development programs for teaching for the duration of their award.
University Professorships for Undergraduate Teaching Excellence are made possible through generous endowments by George and Irma Eppright, John I. Kincaid, and Arthur J. and Wilhelmina Doré Thaman.
More information about the University Professorships for Undergraduate Teaching Excellence can be found here.
The 2024 recipients of the University Professorships for Undergraduate Teaching Excellence are:
Joanna Goodey-Pellois
College of Arts and Sciences
Department of Chemistry
Dr. Joanna Goodey-Pellois is an instructional professor in the Department of Chemistry. She received her Ph.D. in solid state chemistry from the University of Houston in 2001. Dr. Goodey-Pellois joined the Department of Chemistry at Texas A&M University as a Senior Lecturer in 2006. In her 18 years of service, she has taught general chemistry to over 10,000 first-year students. Dr. Goodey-Pellois has led faculty training programs in active learning and inclusive teaching practices. In collaboration with faculty in the Texas A&M Graduate and Professional School and the Department of Teaching Learning and Culture, she has received over $1.9 million in external research funding for educational projects from the National Science Foundation. Since 2019, she has served as the director of the First Year Program in Chemistry. She received the student-nominated 2019 Honoring Excellence Award, the 2020 Association of Former Students College of Science Teaching Award, and the 2021 Association of Former Students Distinguished Achievement Award for Teaching. Last year, Dr. Goodey-Pellois earned the 2023 Provost APT Faculty Teaching Excellence Award.
Darren Hartl
College of Engineering
Department of Aerospace Engineering
Dr. Darren J. Hartl, ‘09 is an associate professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering. After earning his Ph.D. in the department, he began his professional career at Texas A&M University as an assistant research professor of aerospace engineering in the spring of 2011 - teaching his first undergraduate course and a senior technical design elective in 2013. In the Fall of 2014, he left the university for the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) where he held joint appointments in the Materials and Manufacturing Directorate and Aerospace Systems Directorate. Dr. Hartl returned to Texas A&M as a tenure-track assistant professor in 2016, before earning tenure and promotion to associate professor in 2021. His research bridges the topics of advanced multifunctional material systems and their integration into aerospace platforms, and his passion for flight carries over into the classroom. In recognition of his technical contributions, Dr. Hartl was selected as the 2016 recipient of the ASME Gary Anderson Early Achievement Award. As an educator, he has transitioned these technical experiences into engaging courses that promote depth, rigor, and application-motivated intuition. Dr. Hartl used a portion of his start-up funding to create an “Immersive Mechanics Visualization Lab,” the virtual reality capabilities of which he immediately incorporated into his junior-and senior-level mechanics courses. He received the 2018 Dean’s Excellence Award for research and teaching and was a recipient of the 2020 Association of Former Students College-level Teaching Award. Dr. Hartl was the two-time winner (2022 and 2023) of the McElmurry Teaching Excellence Award presented exclusively by the senior class of Sigma Gamma Tau, the Aerospace Engineering Honor Society.
Andy Herring
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Department of Animal Science
Dr. Andy Herring, ‘94 is a John K. Riggs ’41 Beef Cattle Professor in the Department of Animal Science and currently serves as interim associate head for extension. He received his Ph.D. in genetics in 1994, before embarking on a 21.5-year career as a Texas A&M University faculty member. Dr. Herring teaches undergraduate and graduate classes in beef cattle production and management and conducts applied research regarding ruminant livestock production systems. His teaching passion is to inspire students to become life-long learners and to consider whole systems thinking. He has authored a textbook used at 10 universities and authored or coauthored 76 refereed articles, 29 book chapters, 33 conference proceeding papers, 34 research/extension publications and 115 scientific abstracts. Dr. Herring has trained or co-trained 14 Ph.D. students, 33 M.S. students and 12 M.Ag. students. His awards include National Teacher Fellow Award from the National Association of Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture (1998), Outstanding Young Scientist Award for Education from the Southern Section of the American Society of Animal Science (2000), Texas A&M AgriLife Vice Chancellor’s Awards in Excellence for Graduate Teaching (2009), Outstanding Animal Science Alumnus in Animal and Veterinary Sciences from Tarleton State University (2018), the Association of Former Students college-level (2020) and university-level (2023) Teaching Excellence award, and the 2021 Texas A&M AgriLife Vice Chancellor’s Award for International Engagement.
Sandra Scamardo Lampo
Mays Business School
Department of Marketing
Dr. Sandra Scamardo Lampo, ‘01 is a clinical professor in the Department of Marketing. She holds a BBA in Marketing from Texas A&M University, an MBA with an emphasis in International Marketing from Southern Methodist University, and Ph.D. in Marketing from Texas A&M University. Dr. Lampo began teaching at Mays Business School as a Ph.D. student in 1998 and formally joined the faculty as a lecturer in 2002. She teaches marketing courses at the undergraduate level as well as within the M.S. Marketing program. Dr. Lampo’s students have won $65,000 in scholarships in national case competitions. She was selected to serve on the Mays Business School Teaching Council and received the marketing department’s Herb Thompson Teaching Award. Dr. Lampo has been recognized as a “Campus Resource/Point Person” by Texas A&M for the Transformational Teaching Practices of Flipping Classrooms & Active Learning, a panelist for the first university-wide Texas A&M Pedagogy Project Lunch Forum focusing on teaching large classes, a Remote Education Hero by Mays Business School, and a Howdy Camp Namesake. Dr. Lampo is also the recipient of the Provost Academic Professional Track (APT) Faculty Teaching Excellence Award and the Association of Former Students Distinguished Achievement Award for Teaching at both the college and university levels.
Alison Pittman
Texas A&M School of Nursing
Dr. Alison Pittman is a clinical assistant professor in the School of Nursing. Over the course of her 13 years teaching Aggie nurses, she has taught multiple undergraduate nursing courses. Dr. Pittman is a Certified Nurse Educator and a Certified Healthcare Simulation Educator. For the last two years, she has served on the Undergraduate Curriculum Redesign Team. Dr. Pittman’s research focuses on underserved populations and improving the preparedness of healthcare teams to care for those populations. She served as Undergraduate Program Co-Coordinator from 2016-2019 and was selected for the Texas A&M Inclusive Teaching Faculty Fellows Program in 2020, which focused on implementing Universal Design for Learning (UDL) into the classroom. Within these distinct roles, Dr. Pittman has ensured curricular consistency of course offerings, evaluated teaching technologies, supported undergraduate student achievement, and developed evaluation of student achievement of program outcomes. Her published and presented work includes topics such as “Nursing Excellent in Diversity and Opportunities for Improvement,” “The Use of Tai Chi to Reduce Anxiety among Nursing Students,” and “The Effects of Interprofessional Pediatric End-of-Life Simulation on Communication and Role Understanding in Health Professions Students.” Dr. Pittman was nominated for the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nursing Faculty in 2012, 2017, 2021 and 2022. Dr. Pittman received the Texas Organization of Baccalaureate and Graduate Nursing Education Excellence in Research Award in 2013, and her research team was the recipient of the Texas A&M Interprofessional Practice, Education, and Research Teaching Award for Interprofessional Excellence in 2019.
Robin Rackley
School of Education and Human Development
Department of Teaching, Learning and Culture
Dr. Robin Rackley, ‘04 is a clinical professor in the School of Education and Human Development, where she has served as a member of the faculty since earning her Ph.D. in 2004. She has 32 cumulative years of teaching experience at the elementary, secondary, and post-secondary levels. Dr. Rackley currently teaches and conducts research in two primary areas: the preparation of preservice teachers and the development of teacher leaders. She has developed courses in technology integration, implementation of teaching strategies and child development. Dr. Rackley developed and implemented the 5-year master’s program in the Department of Teaching, Learning and Culture. By combining graduate course work concurrently with undergraduate field work, students experience a deeper understanding in all areas of teaching. Dr. Rackley served as the field-based coordinator for the Department of Teaching Learning and Culture from 2008 to 2022. Dr. Rackley has given over 50 presentations (international and domestic) and has 17 publications of her research and her work with pre-service educators. She was recognized by her students with the student-led Award for Teaching Excellence in 2009 and 2010. In 2018, Dr. Rackley received the Departmental Award for Teaching Excellence. In 2019, she was awarded the Association of Former Students College-Level Teaching Award. Last year, Dr. Rackley was awarded the Provost Academic Professional Track Faculty Teaching Excellence Award and The Association of Former Students University-Level Distinguished Achievement Award for Teaching.