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ÃÛÌÒ½´recently announced this year’s Fall Teaching Awards at the Spring 2025 General Faculty Meeting and the Meadows School of the Arts faculty had quite a showing, receiving four out of the seven awards given at the University level.

Awards were given to professors in the Divisions of Advertising, Art History, Music, and Theatre, each recognized for their dedication to their career in education. Each of the awards reflect SMU’s collective commitment to excellence in teaching, which is core to the University’s aspiration to become an even greater research and teaching university with global impact.

“At Meadows we take great pride in the skill and commitment of our faculty members, and we are honored to see them recognized for their hard work,” says Algur H. Meadows Dean Sam Holland. “To see professors from four different divisions celebrated for their excellence in teaching is a testament to the School’s dedication to recruiting and retaining exceptional faculty across the board.”

Congratulations to the following faculty members on their incredible achievements! Learn more about each award below.

Provost’s Teaching Recognition Award

Cheryl Mendenhall, Division of Advertising

Senior Lecturer

The Provost’s Teaching Recognition Award honors full-time teaching and professional faculty who demonstrate a commitment to excellence and a consummate dedication to teaching and learning. The teaching and professional faculty candidate must have taught credited courses full time for a minimum of 5 continuous years prior to his/her year of nomination. This award provides an opportunity to honor the contributions to teaching at ÃÛÌÒ½´made by these important colleagues.

Golden Mustang Award

Kristina Nielsen, Division of Music

Assistant Professor of Musicology

The Golden Mustangs, ÃÛÌÒ½´alumni who graduated at least fifty years ago, have established an award for the advancement of teaching and learning. This award is given each year to a junior, tenure-track faculty member, whose teaching is consistently excellent; whose courses reflect thoughtful curricular development; and whose scholarship makes a meaningful contribution to the discipline and to student learning.

President’s Associates Outstanding Faculty Award

Anne Schilling, Division of Theatre

Associate Professor

The President's Associates Outstanding Faculty Award is given annually to tenured faculty for the advancement of teaching and learning. This award is designed to honor faculty who have sustained high achievement as teachers and whose scholarship makes a meaningful contribution to student learning.

Altshuler Distinguished Teaching Professor Award

Stephanie Langin-Hooper, Department of Art History

Associate Professor and Karl Kilinski II Endowed Chair of Hellenic Visual Culture

The Altshuler Distinguished Teaching Professor Award annually recognizes four ÃÛÌÒ½´faculty members for their notable commitment to and achievements in fostering student learning. These are teachers whose concerns for higher education go beyond classroom boundaries and often the boundaries of their own disciplines. In student mentoring, in discussions about teaching, and in continuous reflection about their own successes and ways to improve, they represent the highest achievement in reaching the goals of higher education.