Samford University biology professor and environmentalist Betsy Dobbins received the school’s 2008 John H. Buchanan Award for Excellence in Classroom Teaching during the opening convocation of the fall semester Aug. 26.
Described as one of Samford’s “most dynamic” faculty members by Provost Brad Creed, Dobbins was commended for her efforts related to problem-based learning, service learning and environmental concerns.
Dobbins, whose specialty areas include physiology and embryology, often leads students out of the classroom and into natural habitats. Well-known on campus for promoting environmental causes, she is a longtime coordinator of Earth Day activities at the school.
She pioneered a unique program by linking her biology classes to courses in science at Gate City Elementary School in Birmingham. She was also co-designer of a new program in bioinformatics that helped secure more than $100,000 for science-based scholarships.
As the award’s recipient, Dobbins received a silver tray and a cash prize. The Buchanan Award winner is chosen each year from a list of finalists nominated by members of the most-recent graduating class. Creed said students who nominated Dobbins for the award commented how she practices what she teaches, stresses the importance of learning over a lifetime rather than crunching facts before a test and brings students into an environment that “challenges their comfort zones and broadens their horizons.”
She earned a bachelor’s degree at Auburn University and master’s and Ph.D. degrees from University of California in Los Angeles.
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