Dr. Ngozi Oriaku receives 2016 Award for Teaching Excellence

The Board of Governors of the 17-campus University North Carolina has chosen some of the University’s most outstanding faculty to receive its 2016 Awards for Excellence in Teaching. The 17 recipients, representing all 16 of North Carolina’s public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, were nominated by special committees on their home campuses and selected by the Board of Governors’ Committee on Personnel and Tenure.

Each of this year’s winners will receive a commemorative bronze medallion and a $12,500 cash prize. All awards will be presented by a Board of Governors member during each campus’ spring graduation ceremonies.

Ngozi Oriaku, a professor in the Department of Business and Economics, is the recipient for Elizabeth City State University.

Oriaku, whose area of expertise is international business, has served over two decades at ECSU, served extensively on departmental and university committees, and worked on community outreach projects. She has served as Chairperson of the Department of Marketing and Management and as Interim Dean of the School of Business and Economics. In addition to advising students, she has also mentored student organizations such as Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE) and the UNC Social Entrepreneurship Team for regional and national competitions with several trophies for first place, second place, and companionship awards.

Other award winners follow:

Lisa Adkins Runner, associate professor, Department of Music, Appalachian State University

Richard Williams, associate professor, Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies, East Carolina University

Heather M. Griffiths, associate professor, Department of Sociology, Fayetteville State University

Salil S. Desai, associate professor, Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, North Carolina Agricultural &amp Technical State University

Peggy P. Whiting, professor, Department of Allied Professions, North Carolina Central University

Jeffrey A. Joines, associate professor, Department of Textile Engineering, Chemistry and Science, North Carolina State University

Sally Wasileski, associate professor, Department of Chemistry, UNC Asheville

Michael T. Crimmins, professor, Department of Chemistry, UNC-Chapel Hill

Stanley Schneider, professor, Department of Biological Sciences, UNC Charlotte

Gregory P. Grieve, associate professor, Department of Religious Studies, UNC Greensboro

Steven Bourquin, professor, Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, UNC Pembroke

Sridhar Varadarajan, associate professor, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, UNC Wilmington

Dale M. Pollock, associate professor, Department of Filmmaking, UNC School of the Arts

Carmen L. Huffman, associate professor, Department of Chemistry and Physics, Western Carolina University

Manjunatha B. Bhat, associate professor, Department of Biological Sciences, Winston-Salem State University and

Philip Rash, instructor of mathematics, North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics.

Short biographies and photos of all 17 award recipients are available on the UNC system website. (http://www.northcarolina.edu/board-governors-awards/teaching-awards-2016)

This press release originated with Joni Worthington, vice president for communications/UNC General Administration.