I can wholeheartedly say that enrolling in Dr. Vanderford’s class was one of the most
rewarding decisions I made during my graduate training.
His eagerness to guide students and his teaching capabilities in the classroom make him an
outstanding candidate for the 2017 Great Teacher Award.
Dr. Reese is not your typical, mundane, lecture-from-a-PowerPoint-professor.
He chooses rather to sit down with students and have meaningful and engaging discussions.
Dr. Andreatta is always available for his students.
I have gone to his office hours a few times to find 12 the students crammed in there,
all asking questions.
Instead of telling me to come back later, he says “Join the party!”
Everyone squeezes in even more so that I can be part of the questions too.
I'm one of Sherali's advisees, which honestly
kind of feels like an honor.
To be able to meet with him one-on-one and discuss internships, school, schedules, lecture
questions or anything else, he is always there.
I thought I lost my qualifying exam last semester; she not only provided with encouragement on
the spot, but actually sending an email that I always go back to whenever I need encouragement.
Whenever something goes wrong in lab, count on Dr. Pinto to always be there.
I'm convinced there is nothing that this woman cannot do.
She is a super-woman.
I have to add: I have a lot to do this week and I really don't have time to be filling
out this application, but I'm making it work because I think he is incredible.
No one deserves this award more than Dr. Andrea.
That’s really sweet of her.
I think the comment about treating the students like my own kids is absolutely true.
I think of them as my kids.
He has impacted my education and me personally and such a way that I felt like that was the
least I could do for him.
As a person who stutters, having an award for doing an action that involves public speaking
is a huge deal; it's a way of my students basically telling me that the stuttering isn’t
an issue.
Educationally, of course, he was a fantastic teacher.
Even just in his expression of his own disorder and allowing us to see how it's affected his
life.
I think that just impacted me more than an hour and 15-minute class session ever could.
It is with a great feeling knowing that my students can care enough about me in order
to nominate me for this award.
Dr. Reese has personally been one of my favorite professors in my time in graduate school.
It is always a pleasure and a meaningful experience to spend time with Dr. Reese, both in and
outside the university classroom setting.
I'm just really thankful to Igor, who is my advisee who took the time to nominate me for
this award.
I see Dr. Reese has not only my advisor from a dissertation but also my mentor, my professor,
my friend.
Really the thing that I like most about my job is working with students…whether it's
in the classroom or it's an advising capacity fortune our research team that's by far what
I've enjoyed the most in my work.
I try to aspire to be very student-centered in my approach.
At the end of the day the students are why we're here and so we better provide a good
learning experience for them in all those ways…we're here to serve students.
Because she is so caring I believe that it motivates us more as students to do well in
order to make her proud.
Awww.
She's everything you can ask for and more in a professor and I think she's the perfect
recipient for this award.
This is just so, so humbling to know that you've had such a such an impact, and a positive
impact.
I nominated her because she is one of the most caring and compassionate faculty that
we have.
She just inspires me to be a better clinician and a better person as well.
I am honored and grateful and thankful for this award…it is affirming of everything
that you do every day.
I like for them to be able to do more than just what's in the book what's in a manual,
but to be able to put that into practice and to be able to serve their patients really
well, to have them come back to you at the end of the course, even in the middle of the
course and say, "ah that makes sense…" that makes you realize that you're actually having
an impact on their education but also their future as dental practitioners.
She has a special way of making students feel like she is a big sister and advisor…I have
the most respect for her.
Reading this really it has impressed upon me that wow, man, small acts of kindness go
a long way.
When I first came here I took her class for my first semester so everything was new to
me, I felt, you know, not as good as other students but she encouraged me, she said "no,
your ideas, when you bring them out, when you say something, it's just very good and
it's ok to be different.
She's not just an inspiration for me actually for all students.
It was so meaningful because it is a student-nominated award.
I'm really humbled and honored, UK is my alma mater, so it feels really nice to be in the
company of people like Gurney Norman and Armando Prats, who were instructors when I was here
and to be chosen as one of six this year, it's pretty incredible.
As my personal mentor, I can attest to the true concern he has about my future.
What sets Dr. Vanderford apart is his willingness to invest time and energy in working with
students to identify strategies to overcome obstacles or stressors throughout graduate
training.
I want to impact people's lives, you know, both their short-term educational goals here
at UK but also their longer-term goals.
Dr. Vanderford is pretty much unlike any other faculty that I've ever had.
He's helped me actually achieve my career goals now that I can actually say that I have
a position that's a dream position and it through some of the skills that he pushed
on me that got me here.
I'm from a small town in Tennessee and for a long time in my life I never thought I would
actually go to college so just having the opportunity to be here and to contribute to
having an impact on students is what really makes me love my job.
Teaching is why we're here.
It's great that the Alumni Association has had the vision of doing this over so many
years, it means a lot to me, being a two-time alum in particular, I think it's going to
be a cherished memory I have forever now.
If there were any one's word of recommendation to receive in the College of Information science,
it would be him hands down.
To tell you the truth I am truly humbled and I'm even more shocked to see how much we are
writing, I have never seen this in my career!
I nominated him because I mean I just think he's like one of the best professors at the
University, the work he puts into everything, everything he does, he does it for the better
of the student.
Something coming right from the students has a very special meaning to me.
Teaching is one of the few professions that actually really gives someone the opportunity
to have a profound impact and that impact will carry for generations.
Having the opportunity to shape individuals, not just from an academic standpoint, but
also to be great leaders, good citizens is just just wonderful.