In May 2023, the Connecticut Board of Regents (BOR) named 15 Connecticut State Colleges and Universities (CSCU) faculty members as recipients of the annual 2022-23 Board of Regents Faculty Awards, which recognize faculty for excellence in teaching or research. They are given to faculty members who have distinguished themselves as outstanding teachers or are doing exceptional research, scholarly, and/or creative work that informs what they do in the classroom. In particular, the teaching awards recognize faculty who have distinguished themselves as outstanding teachers for at least five years and have a minimum of two years’ track record of promoting instructional improvements for their programs/departments.
Board of Regents Teaching Awards are presented annually to faculty from each of the four state universities, Charter Oak, and the 12 community colleges (which, as of July 1, became CT State Community College). System-wide awards are selected from institutional awardees.
For 2022-23, Sarah Roe, associate professor of history, is the recipient of the System-wide Board of Regents Teaching Award for the Connecticut State Universities.
Roe joined the History Department at Southern in 2014 and in 2017 was awarded the J. Philip Smith Outstanding Teaching Award. She has taught a variety of courses, from the introductory to graduate levels, including ones for the Liberal Education Program, required and elective courses in the philosophy major, as well as courses in the Honors College. Her main fields are the philosophy of science and the history of the philosophy of science.
She was nominated for the teaching award by History Department Chair Christine Petto, who wrote that Roe possesses “a talent to present the most intellectually challenging material in a clear and engaging manner all the while stopping to make sure that students not only have the opportunity to ask questions but also to understand the connections to material discussed earlier in the class.” Other letters of support described Roe as “extremely innovative and talented,” “very gifted and communicative,” and “dedicated.”
Roe wrote that for her, “the power of teaching philosophy lies in our ability to provide each student with an environment and the skills to . . . think about things in different ways, promote original ideas, and cultivate the ability to communicate those ideas.”
Commenting upon her receipt of the teaching award, Roe said, “I am pleased that the hard work that goes into creating a comfortable and productive classroom environment is being recognized. It takes dedicated instructors and students to create a unique classroom culture built from mutual respect and an interest in learning. Thank you to all of my amazing students!”
“CSCU faculty go above and beyond to serve our students,” CSCU President Terrence Cheng said. “Our colleges and universities are better places to learn because of their work, and I congratulate each recipient on this well-deserved recognition.”
