Two faculty members who share a deep commitment to student engagement and success have been named the winners of the University of Georgia Award for Excellence in Teaching.
The 2024-2025 honorees are Maryann E. Gallagher, senior lecturer in the department of international affairs in the School of Public and International Affairs and director of the Richard B. Russell Security Leadership Program in SPIA’s Center for International Trade and Security, and Allison G. Hale, senior lecturer in the School of Law.
“This award highlights the invaluable contributions of our teaching faculty, and the enormous impact they have on students across campus,” said S. Jack Hu, the university’s senior vice president for academic affairs and provost. “Maryann Gallagher and Allison Hale are committed to exemplary classroom instruction and to mentoring students beyond the classroom. They are most deserving of this honor, and I thank them for their dedication.”
Maryann E. Gallagher
Gallagher’s approach to teaching centers on a simple principle — engaged students learn more. In each of her courses, she creates an active learning environment where students are challenged, scholarship is valued and theories are applied to current politics.
“While the content of courses may differ, my objectives always include developing students’ analytical and critical thinking skills, improving their writing and verbal communication skills and raising their awareness of the relationship between their personal decisions and international politics,” she said.
To achieve these objectives, Gallagher emphasizes skills-based active learning, opportunities for undergraduate research and mentoring students beyond the classroom. Her approach is most evident in the Security Leadership Program. Students in this selective, yearlong program learn important professional skills for careers in international security, carry out independent research and are mentored by Gallagher even long after they’ve graduated from UGA.
A UGA faculty member since 2015, Gallagher believes research is one of the most powerful forms of student engagement, and she prioritizes undergraduate research in her courses. She also spearheaded the creation of the SPIA Undergraduate Research Colloquium in 2019 to offer professional research experience for the school’s undergraduates. The colloquium routinely features more than 75 research papers, poster sessions and panels.
Gallagher offers an invitation to mentorship on the first day of classes by sharing her experiences as a first-generation college student. She tells students they can, and should, come to her with questions about internships, postgraduate education and career planning.
“Dr. Gallagher has been an instrumental, inspiring and ever-supportive role model in my college journey,” said Mariah Cady, a 2024 Rhodes Scholar and SPIA graduate. “So many of us wouldn’t be where we are today without her unwavering support, and for that, I know we are endlessly grateful.”
Gallagher’s previous honors include a UGA Teaching Academy Fellowship, the UGA Student Government Association Outstanding Professor Award, the department of international affairs’ Award for Teaching Excellence, the J. Hatton Howard III Honors Teaching Award from the UGA Honors College and the SPIA Non-Tenure-Track Excellence in Teaching Award.
Allison Hale
Hale remembers clearly what it felt like to be a first-year law student, and that experience continues to drive how she guides her students. She teaches her students the way she would want to be taught.
“For me, that means giving them all the tools they need to master the skills they have to master, instilling in them the confidence that they can do it and treating them like I’d want to be treated if I were in their shoes,” she said.
Since joining the School of Law faculty in 1992, Hale has taught legal writing to first-year law students, guiding them through the foundational skills that will shape their legal careers.
“I firmly believe that, in order to learn, students need to be shown what to do, not just told what to do. I give them lots of examples and practice assignments and feedback, trying to build their confidence along the way and emphasizing that the building blocks are the same no matter how complex the problem,” she said.
She intentionally fosters an atmosphere in her classroom that, unlike most of their doctrinal law classes, encourages students to relax and ask questions.
Hale provides extensive feedback including one-on-one conferences with students to review their work and incorporates exercises that resonate with different learning styles. She demonstrates charting techniques for visual learners, and in a fun exercise to reinforce principles of structure and organization for kinesthetic learners, has students compete in groups to put back in order an analysis she has cut into pieces. To mimic the real-world scenario many students will face, she requires individual mock partner status conferences where she plays the role of a busy law firm partner, and the student plays the associate reporting on their research and analysis.
“Professor Hale’s enthusiasm for teaching is contagious, and she brings energy and humor to her lessons that make even the most challenging subjects approachable,” said Peter B. “Bo” Rutledge, Talmadge Chair of Law and former dean. “This personal touch has left a lasting impression on generations of law students, many of whom credit her with inspiring their academic and professional journeys.”
The University of Georgia Award for Excellence in Teaching highlights the university’s commitment to its teaching mission and recognizes faculty whose time is primarily dedicated to instruction, promoting pedagogical innovation and providing an engaging environment for student learning.
Nominations for the award are submitted by deans and considered by a committee of senior faculty members and undergraduate students. Full-time faculty members who have held a non-tenurable teaching position at UGA for at least 10 years are eligible for the honor, which includes a $7,500 cash award. To learn more about the award, visit https://provost.uga.edu/academic-excellence/honors-awards/teaching-awards-professorships/excellence-in-teaching/.
Written by UGA Director of Communications for Academic Affairs Mike Wooten