Presidential Professor For Teaching Excellence Award Recipients For 2015 Announced

Dr. Claudia Barton of the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences and Dr. Janet E. Hammer of the College of Education and Human Development have been named recipients of the 2015 Presidential Professor for Teaching Excellence Award, the most prestigious faculty honor bestowed by Texas A&M University.

Barton is a professor and staff oncologist in the Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, and Hammer is a clinical professor in the Department of Teaching, Learning and Culture.

Announcement of the 2015 recipients of the award, which includes a $25,000 stipend to each winner and the lifetime title of “Presidential Professor for Teaching Excellence,” was made by Texas A&M Interim President Mark Hussey.

“Your extraordinary service to students is admired by those you have taught as well as your colleagues in the university,” Hussey said in formally notifying the 2015 honorees that they have been selected for the prestigious award. “It is obvious from reading the letters from your students that your classes are taught with enthusiasm and passion.”

The Presidential Professor for Teaching Excellence Award was established in 2003 to underscore the importance of teaching at a major research university.

Professors Barton and Hammer will be formally introduced at the university’s spring commencement ceremonies at which their respective colleges will award degrees.

Barton, who joined the Texas A&M faculty in 1974, won the Clinical Educator of the Year Award from the Texas Academy of Veterinary Practice in 1981 and again in 1982. The Association of Former Students awarded her the university-level Distinguished Achievement Award three times—twice for teaching and once for continuing education. She was also the recipient of the 2006 Pfizer Carl J. Norden Distinguished Teaching Award, based on teaching ability, personal character, and demonstrated leadership, and was selected twice–in 2007 and 2011—for the John H. Milliff Veterinary Faculty Award emphasizing “compassionate and scholarly attributes.”

Barton is known for her passion for and tremendous depth of knowledge in her field as well as an unsurpassed ability to connect with everyone she teaches, a fact reflected in the comments written by current students, such as: “Wonderful teacher and person! We are privileged to be learning from you” and “Dr. Barton is a fantastic teacher.”

She is a founding member of the specialty of veterinary oncology, having built the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences’ oncology service, which is considered one of the best in the nation. A colleague noted that Barton consistently sets the standard for the rest of the faculty on how to conduct a comprehensive, world-class service in a demanding and stressful specialty. As one of the students from her clinical rotation stated, “I hope one day to be able to have the knowledge base, problem-solving skills, compassion, and understanding that Dr. Barton exhibits daily.”

Hammer has been a member of the Texas A&M faculty since 2004. In addition to her service as a clinical professor, she is associate department head for undergraduate programs in the Department of Teaching, Learning and Culture.

Her commitment to excellence in teaching has been recognized by The Association of Former Students with presentation to her of the university-level Distinguished Achievement Award in 2013. In 2014, she was named an Aggies Commit to Transforming Lives Fellow.

Hammer has been praised by both students and colleagues. One student said, “Her skill as a teacher amazes me,” while another stated, “I can’t give her enough praise for her ability to teach, present new ideas, and engage her students. I learned so much from her, not only from being her student, but also from observing her as a future teacher.” Hammer is also admired by her colleagues, one of whom called her “a role model for both graduate and undergraduate students, an exceptional mentor, and a giving, unselfish colleague.”

Recognizing her dedication to high-impact learning experiences, her department head noted: “Dr. Hammer has been recognized by students, faculty, and the Study Abroad Office for her unparalleled skills and excellence as an exemplary teacher and mentor.” She has taken students to more than a dozen countries in the last decade, and her extended study-abroad experience for pre-service teachers in Italy is the only program of its kind in the country.

Her department head said her teaching “emphasizes the transformative learning experience for pre-service teachers with research-based methods and best practices.”