Two UMD associate professors, Mitra Emad, Anthropology, Sociology and Criminology, College of Liberal Arts (CLA), and Geoffrey G. Bell, Management Studies, Labovitz School of Business and Economics (LSBE), will receive the 2017-18 Horace T. Morse Award for Outstanding Contributions to Undergraduate Education.
The award will be conferred on April 17 at the McNamara Alumni Center on the U of M Twin Cities campus. Morse Award recipients will also be introduced to the Board of Regents at the Regents' May 10-11 meeting.
Those who receive the Morse-Alumni Undergraduate Teaching Award become members of the Academy of Distinguished Teachers (ADT) and are invited to participate in ADT events and activities. Each winner also receives a one-time $15,000 award, which may be used for research or professional development.
Mitra C. Emad is a cultural anthropologist, interdisciplinary scholar, and advocate for active, civically engaged learning. In recognition of her excellence as an instructional leader, she earned an Office of Information Technology research fellowship and two Faculty Fellow positions supporting midcareer instructional development and technology-enhanced learning. She was the 2016 winner of UMD’s Jean Blehart Distinguished Teaching Award. Her leadership led to the founding of UMD’s Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning.
Emad received her B.A. with honors in English at DePaul University in 1987, her M.A. in Anthropology from the University of Chicago in 1989, and her Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology from Rice University in 1998. With a strong interest in engaged pedagogies, her work in the classroom is tied with her research interests, and she regularly teaches courses on Cultural Anthropology, Cultural Constructions of the Body, Medical Anthropology, Visual Anthropology, and Business Anthropology. Her role as internal Faculty Fellow has allowed her to research students’ naturalized technology practices and the impact of digital storytelling on shaping those practices.
Geoffrey G. Bell is committed to helping students discover and nurture their passions. He consistently scores among the top teaching evaluations in LSBE, while maintaining rigorous academic standards. Alumni say he fostered their career success. He engages in high-level advising, assisting students through academic and personal difficulties. Influencing program development, he spearheaded LSBE's Sustainable Organization Minor; he chairs or co-chairs both LSBE's and UMD's Sustainable Education Committees.
Bell graduated with a Ph.D. in Strategic Management from the Carlson School of Management. His research interests include the influence of geography and networks on firm performance and the development of radical management theory based upon virtue ethics. He is also active in pedagogical research, publishing papers on rejuvenating SWOT analysis and a classroom exercise helping students understand the strategic alliance negotiation process. He teaches courses in strategic management, business ethics, and sustainable management.
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