Charlene Belew
Managing Editor
@CBelew15
Dr. Mike Dunn of the biology department and Dr. Edris Montalvo of history and government received the Harold and Elizabeth Hackler Teaching Excellence award at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 12 at Cameron’s Duncan campus.
The Hackler award, which is the most prestigious award available at CU, was established in 1996 by two CU alumni, Harold and Elizabeth Hackler. The mission of the award is to honor educators who provide a quality educational experience to students.
Along with receiving the award, Dunn and Montalvo also received a $2,000 stipend, $1,500 toward professional development funds, as well as specialized plaques. Their names were also added to the Hackler plaque, showcased at CU-Duncan.
During the ceremony, Dunn said his favorite part about teaching is not only helping all students learn how to build the tree of life, but also finding special students he can take to a new level of learning. According to him, there is nothing quite like helping them build their own trees of life.
“Cameron students are just awesome – just amazing,” he said. “Thank you to the Hacklers, who recognize how important teaching is and how important Cameron University is to southwestern Oklahoma.”
Kathryn Parsley, a senior biology major and one of Dunn’s undergraduate students, introduced him at the award ceremony. She was proud to see him receive the award because she believes he goes the extra mile for his students.
“Dr. Dunn is an amazing teacher and mentor,” Parsley said. “Dunn teaches his students in a unique way. He’s very inspirational and an excellent speaker and lecturer, and his first priority is making sure the students understand his material.
“He’s the reason I’m going to graduate school at Texas State University, and I’m going to be a paleobotanist, like him. He never pushed me into the field – just helped me recognize that I had a natural talent and passion for it.”
Montalvo was presented by master’s student Jacob Jardel. Although Jardel has never experienced a class with Montalvo, they have attended two conferences together.
“To be able to teach in the classroom is one thing,” Jardel said. “To be able to teach outside of it is what sets a great instructor apart – and Dr. Montalvo is that caliber of instructor from what he’s taught me outside of the classroom.”
Montalvo, the only geography instructor at Cameron, said teaching is about sharing a multitude of perspectives. He believes that all Aggies, including traditional, nontraditional, international and those serving or who have served in the armed forces, all bring a fresh take to the classroom.
“I’m very humbled and honored to receive this award,” Montalvo said. “This is obviously the highlight of my career because it is an award that recognizes the most important part of our job, which is teaching. Every member in my department is equally, if not more deserving of this award, because they set the level that high.”
The award is a combination of Harold and Elizabeth Hackler’s foundation, Halliburton, the McCasland Foundation, as well as the OK State Reagents of Education.