FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE.

 

For more information, contact:

Elizabeth Maynard-Garrett, APR

UTHSC Communications and Marketing

(901) 448-4957

 

UT SCHOLAR WINS NATIONAL EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH AWARD

 

            Memphis, Tennessee (April 25, 2005) – Raoul A. Arreola, PhD, University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) professor, was presented with the Relating Research to Practice Award—Interpretive Scholarship by the American Educational Research Association (AERA). The award was presented earlier this month at the AERA’s 86^th Annual Meeting which drew more than 12, 000 education researchers from 53 countries to Montreal.   

            The AERA award recognizes outstanding contributions toward increasing understanding of educational research’s role in improving education practice.  Dr. Arreola who is also director of Institutional Research, Assessment and Planning for UTHSC, was recognized for developing a Meta-Profession Project which colleagues describe as providing “the DNA structure” of faculty work.

            “While there is a large body of research on what faculty members do, the Meta-Profession Project is the first time we have tried to understand and codify the specific skill sets faculty need to have as they pursue their teaching, research, service, and administrative responsibilities.  For example, we find that content expertise is necessary but, alone, is insufficient for excellent teaching,” explains Dr. Arreola. “Also needed are such skills as, instructional design and assessment, group process and team management, course management, and communication styles.”

            Altogether, the Meta-Profession Project identifies over 20 skill sets beyond content expertise required by college professors to do their jobs.

            In nominating Dr. Arreola for the award, Peter A. Cohn, PhD, professor and dean of the College of Health Professions, Wichita State University, said, “Building on Dr. Arreola’s landmark process for developing a comprehensive faculty evaluation system (described in his book of the same name), he has re-conceptualized the roles and work of the professoriate in a way that is particularly lucid and logical.  His work has found application in both the areas of faculty evaluation and faculty development as well as in academic policy development at the campus level. He is widely recognized as a scholar and a successful practitioner.”

            With a career spanning 36 years of research and consulting with over 300 higher education institutions, Dr. Arreola also received the 2004 McKeachie Career Achievement Award from AERA’s Special Interest Group on Faculty Evaluation and Development.

            Founded in 1916, AERA is the most prominent international professional organization with the primary goal of advancing education research and its practical application. Its 22,000 members represent education, psychology, statistics, sociology, history, economics, philosophy, anthropology and political science.