William F. Walker Teaching Awards
In honor of the late William F. Walker, former engineering dean and Auburn University president, alumnus Fred Birdsong and his wife Mary Lou endowed the Walker Teaching Awards to recognize and motivate outstanding achievement of faculty members who educate engineering students at Auburn.
The superior teaching award represents the highest faculty honor for instruction in the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering and carries an annual stipend, while the three merit teaching awards offer smaller stipends. Each carries a one-year term. Faculty members eligible for the awards include all departments in which engineering students take courses, including such areas as math, physics, chemistry and English.
From 1990 to 2000, the awards were named the Fred and Mary Lou Birdsong Teaching Awards; it was in 2000 that Mr. Birdsong renamed these prestigious awards, extending this honor to William F. Walker, then provost and vice president for academic affairs. The William F. Walker Teaching awards became effective with the 2001 awards. In 2002, Walker became Auburn's president.
Nominating process
Nominations for the William F. Walker Teaching Awards may be made by faculty members, students or alumni.
Nomination packets should be no more than 12 pages and include:
- Up to four pages from the department head on why the faculty member should receive the award
- Student evaluations from the past three to five years
- Two to three letters of support
- Curriculum vita
- Explanation of how courses relate to the education of engineering students for those that do not carry engineering designation
- A thorough evaluation of teaching competence and effectiveness should anchor the nomination
After review by a departmental committee, a letter of recommendation should be submitted by the respective committee chair to the Walker Teaching Awards committee, which is composed of the previous year's winner of the superior teaching award, a member of the Auburn Alumni Engineering Council, and the president of the Engineering Student Council. Respectively, these members represent faculty, alumni and students. The awards committee also includes a representative from the university's Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs.
Eligibility
Candidates may include any faculty member involved in teaching Auburn Engineering students. However, restrictions apply to repeat winners. Superior Teaching Award winners from the previous two years cannot be considered as potential nominees; Merit Teaching Award recipients are ineligible for further consideration for a period of one year.
Nomination deadline
Nominations for each of the Walker Teaching Awards should be submitted to the appropriate department head by Jan. 15 for review by the departmental committee. If this date falls on a weekend or holiday, the deadline is extended to the following business day. Recommendations by the departmental committee will be submitted to the dean of engineering no later than Feb. 15.
About William F. Walker
William F. Walker came to Auburn in 1988 as dean of the College of Engineering and 11 years later was promoted to provost. He was named interim university president in February 2001 and elevated to president by a unanimous vote of the Board of Trustees in June 2002.
While dean of engineering, Walker established a uniform system for faculty evaluation and assignment; involved engineering faculty in the strategic planning, tenure and promotion processes; and implemented programs to increase and retain minority engineering faculty and students. As president, Walker outlined a vision to ensure the university's financial soundness, focus its sense of mission and accountability and rejuvenate the "Auburn Spirit" by improving communications with students, faculty, staff, alumni and the Board of Trustees. Walker stepped down from the post in 2004. He passed away in 2007 at the age of 69.
Walker held bachelor's and master's degrees in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas-Austin and a doctorate in mechanical engineering from Oklahoma State University. He came to Auburn from Rice University, where he served as chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science for nine years.
