Ferzli Wins New Teacher Award

Biology professor Miriam Ferzli is one of  two recipients of the 2011 New Teacher Award from the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU). The award recognizes faculty members for outstanding classroom abilities, innovative methods, service to students and the profession, and scholarship.

Ferzli, a teaching assistant professor in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, focuses on giving students an active role in the learning process. A past recipient of the university’s Outstanding Teaching Award and the CALS Outstanding Adviser Award, she is an education fellow for the National Academies of Science and a member of the Academy of Outstanding Teachers.

Ferzli began teaching while a graduate student at NC State, where she received master’s and doctoral degrees  after earning undergraduate degrees from the University of Miami.

The New Teacher Award is sponsored by APLU, the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Ferzli and  Dr. Tracy Kitchel of the University of Missouri were honored last month at the APLU meeting in San Francisco.