Stephanie Jones named to prestigious Meigs professorship

College of Education professor Stephanie Jones is one of five University of Georgia faculty members named Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professors, the university's highest recognition for excellence in instruction at the undergraduate and graduate level.

The Meigs Professorship underscores the university's commitment to excellence in teaching, the value placed on the learning experiences of students and the centrality of instruction to the university's mission. The award, sponsored by the Office of the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, includes a permanent salary increase of $6,000 and a one-year discretionary fund of $1,000.

"Our Meigs Professors are exemplars of the University of Georgia's commitment to providing students with unparalleled learning experiences," said Pamela Whitten, senior vice president for academic affairs and provost. "They have made enduring impacts on their students as well as on the institution as a whole."

The 2016 Meigs Professors are:

• Tim Foutz, a professor in the College of Engineering
• Stephanie Jones, a professor of educational theory and practice in the College of Education
• Karen Whitehill King, a professor of advertising and the Jim Kennedy Professor of New Media in the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication
• Rodney Mauricio, a professor of genetics in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences
• Tim Smalley, an associate professor of horticulture in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences

Jones uses interdisciplinary approaches to help students better understand social class, gender and race within educational contexts where both inequality and equality can be produced. She has collaborated in the development or redesign of multiple courses and programs since she joined the faculty in 2007 and has partnered with university and community-based colleagues for projects involving writing, art, geography, food literacy and other topics. She has been widely published on the topic of teaching and learning, including three books that have become staples on syllabi across the nation.

Jones has received many accolades, including the 2015 First-Year Odyssey Seminar Teaching Excellence Award and the College of Education's 2011 Ira E. Aaron Award for Teaching Excellence and Collegiality. She has participated in the Lilly Teaching Fellowship and is currently a UGA Teaching Academy Fellow.