Five UMass professors win teaching excellence awards

DARTMOUTH – As part of the university-wide honor, one professor at each of the five University of Massachusetts campuses have been recognized with the 2017 Manning Prize for Excellence in Teaching and given a $10,000 award, according to a statement made Monday by the school.

The 2017 UMass Dartmouth professor recognized for excellence in teaching was Nora Ganim Barnes, a chancellor professor of marketing. Much of her teaching is focused on experiential learning as illustrated by her marketing research course which saw students analyze the efficacy of the campus food bank in terms of the population most in need, frequency of use and community volunteerism.

Additional honorees at the state university’s four other campuses included David S. Hatem, professor of medicine at the UMass Medical School in Worcester, Haivan V. Hoang, an associate professor of English at UMass Amherst, Rafael Jaen, an assistant professor of theatre arts at UMass Boston and Donald G. Leitch, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at UMass Lowell.

In its second year, the Manning Prize, which is open to all full-time, tenured and non-tenured faculty, was established by UMass Lowell alumni Rob and Donna Manning.

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“Faculty are the heart and soul of this institution, and they have the power to transform lives. I know firsthand the impact that great teachers have, so it’s very important to Donna and me that we support faculty members who give so much of themselves,” said Mr. Manning in a statement.

A UMass Lowell graduate, he is now the executive chairman of Boston-based MFS Investment Management and UMass board of trustees chairman, he credits a UMass Lowell mathematics professor with helping him launch his career. Donna, now an oncology nurse at Boston Medical Center, received a nursing degree and MBA from UMass Lowell.

Emily Gowdey-Backus is a staff writer for PBN. You can follow her on Twitter @FlashGowdey.