CRP Professor Caroline Scruggs Awarded 2020-2021 Outstanding Teacher of the Year by Center for Teaching Excellence
June 11, 2021
Community + Regional Planning Department Associate Professor Dr. Caroline Scruggs is a recipient of the 2020-2021 Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award from the UNM Center for Teaching Excellence. This teaching award recognizes the tremendous work and ingenuity instructors have demonstrated in response to the COVID-19 health crisis. In particular, this year’s awards recognize the ways instructors have skillfully and creatively transitioned their in-person teaching to hybrid or remote modalities.
Dr. Scruggs leverages her professional work in water quality in her teaching to engage students in research, co-authorship, and community based projects.
One student nominators noted that “Dr. Scruggs is a master communicator. She knows how to bring out the best in all her students.” She recognized early on that we tended to be quiet students who rarely participated in class discussions. We preferred to communicate through the Zoom “chat” feature. Instead of putting students on the spot for not speaking in class, she created an environment in which everyone could feel comfortable participating”. A faculty nominator stated “Students continually speak about Caroline’s commitment to environmental and social justice through addressing local, real-world problems.”
