Contact: Maridith Geuder
A veteran Mississippi State University faculty member today [Oct. 8] was named as the 1998-99 Mississippi Professor of the Year.
Paul Grootkerk of the department of art was selected as part of the U.S. Professors of the Year Program sponsored annually by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education.
Begun in 1981, the tribute by the Washington, D.C.-based organizations is the only nationwide effort to honor college-level instruction.
Grootkerk, a John Grisham Master Teacher, is the second Mississippi State faculty member to receive the high honor. Communication professor Hank Flick was named the state's best in 1995.
Faculty members in 47 states were selected for this year's awards from among more than 500 nominees. They were evaluated in four areas: impact on and involvement with undergraduate students; scholarly approach to teaching; service to undergraduate students, institution, community, and profession; and support from colleagues and students.
A 20-year member of the faculty, Grootkerk previously received a national Burlington Northern Foundation Achievement Award for Teaching Excellence. He also has been honored with the MSU Alumni Association's Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award, the University Honors Program Outstanding Faculty Member Award and the College of Arts and Sciences' Paideia Award for Teaching Excellence.
A doctoral graduate of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, he regularly develops study abroad and field trip opportunities for students. In 1999, he will teach a month-long course in London on modern British art. He has conducted similar study experiences in Germany, Italy and the Netherlands.
Grootkerk's forthcoming book, "Agrarian Art: The Influence of Agriculture on Southern Art," is being published by the University Press of Mississippi.