大象APP

Newest William L. Giles Distinguished Professor, Grisham Master Teachers honored at MSU

Newest William L. Giles Distinguished Professor, Grisham Master Teachers honored at MSU

group photo of university honorees
From left, the university's newest William L. Giles Distinguished Professor, Wes Schilling, poses with Grisham Master Teacher Award recipients Amber Robinson, John Ball and Ros芒ngela Yazbec Sebba. (Photo by Jonah Holland)

Contact: Mary Pollitz

STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥擬ississippi 大象APP is celebrating four faculty members today [Aug. 29] with two of the university鈥檚 most prestigious teaching honors.

Wes Schilling received the William L. Giles Distinguished Professor distinction, and John E. Ball, Amber Robinson and Ros芒ngela Yazbec Sebba are the newest Grisham Master Teachers.

Wes Schilling accepts award
MSU President Mark E. Keenum, left, poses with William L. Giles Distinguished Professor honoree Wes Schilling, center, and MSU Provost and Executive Vice President David Shaw. (Photo by Jonah Holland)

鈥湸笙驛PP is blessed to have world-class faculty who are leaders in their fields and dedicated to their students. Today鈥檚 honorees exemplify the very best of what it means to be a teacher, mentor and scholar, and I am grateful for their many contributions to our campus community,鈥 MSU President Mark E. Keenum said. 鈥淪tudents want to be here because of the exceptional classroom instruction, research opportunities and service opportunities they and their colleagues provide.鈥

The William L. Giles Distinguished Professor honor is one of the highest awards the university can bestow upon a faculty member in recognition of outstanding research, teaching and service. This honorary distinction is conferred only on an MSU faculty member who has attained national or international recognition.

鈥擲chilling is a professor of meat science, sensory science and food chemistry in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences鈥 Department of Biochemistry, Nutrition and Health Promotion. He is internationally recognized for his research, publishing 186 peer reviewed articles, 162 scientific abstracts and 73 invited articles. Colleagues and supervisors praise him as a 鈥渢railblazing researcher,鈥 with nearly 6,000 Google Scholar citations, who has garnered nearly $9 million in research funding for his program.

John Ball with Dr. Keenum and Dr. Shaw
MSU President Mark E. Keenum, left, poses with Grisham Master Teacher John Ball, center, and MSU Provost and Executive Vice President David Shaw. (Photo by Jonah Holland)

First presented in 1993, the Grisham Master Teacher honor is a tribute to classroom and instruction excellence and is named for the MSU accounting alumnus and internationally recognized best-selling author who provided funds to endow the award.

鈥擝all is an associate professor and Robert D. Guyton Chair in the Bagley College of Engineering's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He is highly respected by colleagues and students alike because of his enthusiasm and approachability in the classroom. Student survey feedback praises Ball for his lectures, passion, engagement with students and real-world applicability of his teaching.

Amber Robinson Master Teacher Award
MSU President Mark E. Keenum, left, poses with Grisham Master Teacher Amber Robinson, center, and MSU Provost and Executive Vice President David Shaw. (Photo by Jonah Holland)

鈥擱obinson is an instructor of mathematics in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics in the College of Arts and Sciences. As a Calculus II instructor, Robinson teaches what many describe as their 鈥渕ost challenging mathematics course.鈥 Since she began her career at MSU, the student success rate in this course has improved substantially. Former students credit this success to her ability to 鈥渃ater to every learning style.鈥

Sebba as Master Grisham Teacher
MSU President Mark E. Keenum, left, poses with the Grisham Master Teacher Ros芒ngela Yazbec Sebba, center, and MSU Provost and Executive Vice President David Shaw. (Photo by Jonah Holland)

鈥擲ebba is a professor in the Department of Music in the College of Education. She is internationally recognized as a successful pianist and helped initiate MSU as an All-Steinway School, which included acquiring millions of dollars鈥 worth of Steinway pianos. Colleagues describe Sebba as a musical professional who 鈥渕eets students where they are and helps them absolutely thrive.鈥

大象APP is taking care of what matters. Learn more at聽.