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Chemistry Professor
Named UNCP's Top Teacher
 Dr.
Paul Flowers is UNC Pemboke's 2002 recipient of the UNC Board of Governors
Award for Teaching Excellence.
Dr. Flowers wins
high praise from colleagues for his work in and out of the laboratory.
"I consider
Paul to be the best scientist we have," a colleague in the Chemistry
and Physics Department said. "He gives undergraduates an opportunity
to do real research and to publish."
Dr. Flowers is the
third member of his department to win North Carolina's top teaching
award since it was established in 1994. The award includes a $7,500
cash prize.
"I feel undeserving.
I did not expect to win, but I am honored," Dr. Flowers said. "If
there is a reason for me to receive this award, it is not for my conventional
teaching record, but because of my efforts directing and supervising
undergraduate research."
"I am a firm
believer in the use of experimental research as a context for teaching
science to undergraduates," he said.
Presently funded
by a three-year National Science Foundation grant, Dr. Flowers is conducting
research on fiber optic sensors for taking on-site environmental measurements.
Since beginning work at UNCP, several of his students have published
their research with Dr. Flowers in internationally recognized scientific
journals.
"In addition
to sending graduates into industrial employment, we have had a good
success rate in getting our students accepted to graduate programs,"
Dr. Flowers said.
Dr. Flowers' contributions
to his students, the department and the university extend beyond the
laboratory. He led a lengthy and successful effort to gain certification
for UNCP's chemistry program by the American Chemical Society, the world's
largest professional organization.
"ACS certification
is the stamp of approval for our chemistry program," Dr. Flowers
said. "Regardless of whether employers or graduate schools have
heard about UNCP, they certainly know of the ACS."
"We're real
proud of this accomplishment which can mean thousands of dollars a year
in starting pay for our graduates," said Dr. Jose D'Arruda, chair
of the Chemistry and Physics Department. "We are also real proud
of Paul, who is very deserving of this important award."
Dr. Flowers will
be honored by UNC President Molly Broad and the Board of Governors at
a May 10 awards ceremony. Dr. Ruth Dial Woods, of Pembroke and one of
32 members of the Board of Governors, was chair of the awards committee.
The award is handed
out annually to one professor on each of the 16 UNC campuses. It rewards
a tenured faculty member who exemplifies the importance of teaching.
A native of Bennettsville,
S.C., Dr. Flowers did his undergraduate work at nearby St. Andrews College
in Laurinburg. He received a doctorate from the University of Tennessee.
He has been with UNCP since 1989.
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