Norman Dennis Named Co-Chair of University Teaching Center

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Norman Dennis, professor of civil engineering in the College of Engineering, has been appointed to a three-year term as co-chair of the Wally Cordes Teaching and Faculty Support Center at the University of Arkansas.

Dennis joined the university faculty in 1996 and was inducted into the university’s Teaching Academy in 2006. He was the recipient of the Charles and Nadine Baum Teaching Award in 2008 and was recently elected to the Arkansas Academy of Civil Engineers.

“Becoming a part of the Teaching Center is a great honor and responsibility,” Dennis said. “I am looking forward to working with our excellent faculty members to help provide the support and resources to help them become even better.”

The Teaching Center was established in 1992 as a resource center for members of the university faculty. The center hosts regular luncheon programs for both new and not-so-new faculty, publishes a monthly newsletter full of teaching tips and strategies, organizes orientation for new faculty and teaching assistants, and orchestrates a nationally-renowned three-day teaching camp every summer.

The Teaching Center has three faculty co-directors, each with a one-quarter time appointment, who serve three-year rotating terms. Co-directors are appointed by the provost.

“Norm Dennis is going to make an excellent addition to the Teaching Center,” said Sharon Gaber, provost and vice chancellor for Academic Affairs. “He has demonstrated a commitment to excellence in teaching, both in his own classroom and as a mentor to other members of the faculty.”

Before coming to the University of Arkansas Dennis served in the United States Army for more than two decades, culminating his career as a member of the permanent faculty at the U.S. Military Academy. ... He earned his doctoral degree at the University of Texas. His specialty area is geotechnical engineering.

He has been honored by the American Society of Civil Engineers with its Excellence in Civil Engineering Education Leadership Award for 2006. He was also selected by the American Society for Engineering Education and the National Science Foundation as a distinguished lecturer on the topics of teaching and learning. He has given teaching and learning seminars at numerous universities both in the United States and abroad. For the past 10 years he has held week-long summer workshops at the University of Arkansas for new faculty members in civil engineering, designed to improve their teaching skills. The workshops are sponsored by the American Society of Civil Engineers.

Dennis joins Marianne Neighbors and Janine Parry as co-chair of the Teaching Center. He replaces Charles Rosenkranz, whose three-year term has expired.