K-State honors four faculty members with Commerce Bank Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Awards

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Sources: Vicky Borchers, 785-532-2992, vborchr@k-state.edu;
John Exdell, 785-532-0359, jbex@k-state.edu; Eric Higgins, 785-532-3936,
ehiggins@k-state.edu; and David Pacey, 785-532-2610, pacey@k-state.edu
News release prepared by: Beth Bohn, 785-532-6415

Thursday, April 6, 2006

K-STATE HONORS FOUR FACULTY MEMBERS WITH COMMERCE BANK OUTSTANDING UNDERGRADUATE TEACHING AWARDS

MANHATTAN -- Four Kansas State University faculty members are receiving the 2006 Commerce Bank Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award. This year's recipients are Vicky Borchers, associate professor of interior architecture and product design; John Exdell, associate professor of philosophy; Eric Higgins, associate professor of finance; and David Pacey, professor of mechanical and nuclear engineering.

The awards, which include a $2,500 honorarium, are sponsored by the William T. Kemper Foundation and Commerce Bancshares Foundation, and they are coordinated through the Kansas State University Foundation.

"This is the 11th year Commerce Bank and the William T. Kemper Foundation have partnered with K-State to promote and support excellence in teaching with the Commerce Bank Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Awards," said Tom Giller, community bank president of Commerce Bank, Manhattan. "We're pleased to join the university in honoring this year's recipients, who all truly make a positive impact through their dedication to teaching and mentoring students."

Jon Wefald, K-State president, said the support provided by the William T. Kemper Foundation and the Commerce Bancshares Foundation is essential in helping K-State reward its most outstanding faculty members. "This year's honorees have distinguished themselves through their commitment to undergraduate education," he said. "They demonstrate daily the priority K-State places on providing undergraduates with the best education and instructors possible."

Borchers teaches students in the third, fourth and fifth years of the interior architecture and product design curriculum. Her emphasis is on technology and incorporating computer-aided planning and design into daily work by students. She also is in charge of the department's internship program. Borchers said she enjoys bringing new experiences to students, including the K-State intersession class she created involving a service-learning construction project in Chahuaytire, Peru. "The challenge for me personally is keeping current on the technology and bringing the latest developments to the students," Borchers said. "With so many options in computer-aided design software and the burgeoning use of 3-D and animation in the professional design office, helping students develop skill sets that fit their personal goals keeps me busy."

Borchers joined K-State in 1995 and was promoted to associate professor in 2000. She earned a bachelor's in interior architecture from K-State and a master's in architecture from Texas A&M University.

Exdell teaches several undergraduate courses, including Introduction to Social and Political Philosophy, Philosophy and Race, Social and Political Philosophy, and Philosophy of Law. He also teaches a graduate-level course about every two years. "I enjoy helping students to think from conflicting and unfamiliar points of view, and to think critically about how our world actually works and how it ought to be," Exdell said. "Teaching is most fun when the lecture stops and students get into lively discussions with each other on the big philosophical questions, questions about what we take to be universal and fundamental political values." Exdell has been recognized previously for his teaching with the William L. Stamey Teaching Award from the College of Arts and Sciences. Exdell, who joined K-State in 1972 and was promoted to associate professor in 1983, earned a bachelor's in philosophy from Dickinson College and a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Texas-Austin.

Higgins primarily teaches a security and portfolio analysis class that manages the College of Business Administration's Dennis and Sally von Waaden student investment portfolio. Students are responsible for selecting new investments and maintaining the existing investments in the portfolio. He also has been developing a new integrated investment management curriculum that will be accessible to all of the college's undergraduates. "In general, I have found that teaching is the most rewarding activity that I am involved with," Higgins said. "I really enjoy research and service as well, but with teaching I appreciate the immediate feedback that I get from students. I get to see progress in students as they learn and I feel like I have made a difference when I can see students grow in their understanding of finance." Higgins, who joined K-State in 2001 and was promoted to associate professor in 2004, also is a recipient of the college's Ralph E. Reitz Outstanding Teacher Award. He earned a bachelor's in finance from K-State and a doctorate in finance from Florida State University.

Pacey, who serves as director of the department of mechanical and nuclear engineering's undergraduate program, has been recognized many times for his work with students. He received K-State's 2003 Presidential Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Advising; the Society of Automotive Engineers Faculty Adviser Award in 2000; and the College of Engineering's James Hollis Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching in 1998 and 2005. Pacey teaches Introduction to Mechanical Engineering to incoming freshmen and other new students. He also teaches Measurement and Instrumentation Lab and advises several teams in the college's Senior Design course. "I really enjoy the lab and team environments where I can get to know the students as individuals and serve as a mentor on their path to becoming an engineer," Pacey said. "To me, the greatest reward of teaching is seeing the success of our graduates in their lives and careers." Pacey joined K-State in 1980 as an agricultural engineer with the Cooperative Extension Service. He began teaching engineering technology in 1988, and joined the mechanical engineering faculty in 1994. He was promoted to full professor in 2001. Pacey earned his bachelor's in agricultural engineering, and his master's and doctorate in mechanical engineering, all from K-State.