Professor Wei Chen doesn’t want his students just to remember classes; he wants them to understand.
Wei Chen The national professor of the year is shown in his lab at the University of Central Oklahoma.
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The University of Central Oklahoma professor of biomedical engineering is the Outstanding Master’s Universities and Colleges 2008 U.S. Professor of the Year. The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education recently gave Chen the award, which recognizes professors who have positively influenced the lives and careers of students.
Chen said he uses a quote from Confucius — "I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand” — for his philosophy. That means putting undergraduate students in the lab doing real research.
"It’s very meaningful,” Chen said. "I think this is a very important component. They can learn more.”
Chen is a native of China but has been in the United States since 1982. He came to UCO 10 years ago and has had 50 to 60 students in his laboratory. Those students have helped Chen in his work in laser immunotherapy in the treatment of melanoma.
Chen’s students are now studying animal reactions to determine how best to deliver the laser, he said.
Chen was selected from nearly 300 professors in the country. From that pool, organizers selected one national winner in four categories.
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Accounting educator is honored
Professor of the Year Bob Terrell wants his students to know they can always find their career path if they search for something they’re passionate about.
Terrell, an accounting professor at the University of Central Oklahoma, was recently named the 2008 Oklahoma Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education.
Terrell said he found his career when he discovered he was passionate about teaching, and he said he tries to pass that philosophy on to his students.
"Teaching has been a godsend to me. I absolutely fell in love with it,” he said.
Terrell teaches auditing and ethics and financial accounting. He started teaching part time at the university in 1975 and became a full-time professor in 1985. Terrell said he likes to serve as a mentor to students, helps them prepare for exams to become certified public accountants and is the faculty representative for the accounting club. All of that doesn’t stop him from telling a few jokes in classes to keep students on task, he said.
"I use a lot of humor in my classroom,” Terrell said.
Roger Webb, UCO president, said Terrell deserves recognition for the excellence he shows daily at UCO.
"He is a superior example of the deep commitment our faculty and staff have to providing a quality educational experience for our students,” Webb said.
Dawn Marks, Staff Writer
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