Three faculty members received the 1998 Health Sciences Foundation Teaching Excellence Awards during commencement week. Chosen from 29 nominees, this year's recipients are Ruth M. Patterson, Ed.D., Robert W. Ogilvie, Ph.D., and David C. Morrisette, Ph.D.

Ruth M. Patterson, Ed.D., received the Educator-Mentor Award for excellence in mentoring and role modeling. An associate professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, College of Health Professions, Patterson joined the MUSC faculty in 1991. She received her doctoral degree in adult education from North Carolina State University, and her master's degree in hospital and health administration from the University of Alabama-Birmingham. She has been nominated as Teacher of the Year in the College of Health Professions every year since the college-level award was established in 1992, and was its recipient in 1997. She also has been nominated for a Health Sciences Foundation Teaching Excellence Award each year since its inception in 1995, in both the Educator-Mentor and Educator-Lecturer categories. In 1996, she was nominated for the Scholar of the Year Award in the College of Health Professions.

Patterson was nominated by a graduate student, Geraldene Pearce, in the College of Health Professions, whose thesis committee Patterson chaired. Pearce observed in her letter of nomination that "Dr. Patterson has always excelled in her classroom teaching but I found that she particularly excels as a research mentor. She offers constructive criticism in an encouraging way, and inspires confidence in students that makes them feel capable of producing a better product. She is truly worthy of this award."

During the past three years, Patterson has chaired the thesis committees of eight students in the master of science in health professions education program. They praised Patterson's teaching and research mentoring skills, noting her ability to create "a hospitable, supportive learning environment" and "a climate of trust, respect, and genuine concern for students" as well as her openness, accessibility, and altruistic commitment to student success.

One student noted that Patterson possesses the "attributes of a dedicated educator-mentor. All educators could benefit from her example. Not only does she facilitate learning, she is an everyday demonstration of an exemplary teacher. Another said, "She facilitates self-directed learning, problem-solving, and a commitment to lifelong learning. I am proud to be a product of this outstanding educator's efforts." Several students noted they had recommended the master's program to others because of Patterson's teaching excellence.

A lifelong learner herself, Patterson has an impressive array of continuing professional development activities, including most recently a five-day course in "Ethics and Managed Care" at the Kennedy Institute of Ethics in Washington, D.C., and a workshop, "Teaching at a Distance with the Emerging Technologies," at New Mexico State University. She brought back "telelessons" from the latter, which she herself uses and has introduced to her departmental colleagues to help them adapt their teaching to distance delivery.

Patterson teaches numerous courses to students from her own college as well as students in other MUSC colleges. Her teaching responsibilities include courses in teaching methods and skills, thesis research seminar, teaching practicum, research ethics, and ethics for the health professional, an interdisciplinary course which enrolls students from physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech-language therapy, dental medicine, and health professions education. She also participated this past year in pioneering the teaching of a graduate level professional communications course via distance education technology, and mentored four clinical faculty members at the Greenville site to prepare them to teach using two-way compressed video technology. Patterson also has taught patient education principles and methods to doctor of pharmacy students and practicing South Carolina pharmacists, and Patterson herself summarized her thoughts about her role as an educator mentor by noting, "It has been my joy to advise and mentor students since I became a faculty member 20 years ago. I had the privilege of having a very special mentor who supported my growth in graduate school and helped me as I began my profession of teaching. Students are so often in need of support. Even professionals in their field who return to school find that they have a sense of anxiety and fear that they will not do what is necessary to be successful. They need faculty who care about them as persons, treat them with respect and courtesy, listen to their questions, and ‘be there' for them in a special way."

This year, there are two Educator-Lecturer Award recipients for excellence in classroom teaching: Robert W. Ogilvie, Ph.D., and David C. Morrisette, Ph.D. Ogilvie, a professor in the Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy in the College of Medicine, rejoined the MUSC faculty in 1993 following a 16-year hiatus. Ogilvie initially came to MUSC in 1965 as a research fellow, and received his Ph.D. in anatomy here in 1968. He stayed on as a faculty member in the Department of Anatomy until 1977, when he left to become director of an electron microscopy facility at Oral Roberts University, then later moved to Oklahoma University. Since his return to MUSC, Ogilvie has gained recognition on campus as a leading expert in the use of technology for education.

Ogilvie was nominated by Vic Del Bene, M.D., associate dean in the College of Medicine, for his "demonstrated excellence as a teacher," who noted that Ogilvie "has been an important force for education innovation in the College of Medicine." Ogilvie has created modular histology and cell biology teaching laboratories, using a computerized, interactive multimedia to facilitate self-directed and self-paced learning and for testing students' knowledge. Del Bene praised Ogilvie's "excellent rapport and fellowship with students. He is responsive to their needs and their individual differences."

Indeed, students especially are enthusiastic about Ogilvie's teaching skill, and consistently rate him very highly. They have selected him for numerous teaching excellence awards, beginning with a teaching award from the freshman medical class in 1976, and most recently, a 1996 Golden Apple Award from the freshman medical class and a 1997 Faculty Excellence Award from the College of Medicine Student Council.

Tom Basler, Ph.D., director of Library Science and Informatics, noted that students in the microcomputer labs are frequently heard to ask, "Why can't you ‘Ogilvie' this course?" He observed that the enthusiasm with which students use Ogilvie's computerized learning resources is exciting for Library staff and visitors to watch. "This is the first course of this nature at MUSC. From the beginning, students were enthusiastic in their study, loved the technology, and remarked how it allows for more individually-oriented learning." Ogilvie has made his multimedia learning materials available to other colleges as well, and students from Nursing and Health Professions are now using them. Basler praised Ogilvie's educational leadership in designing such an innovative approach to teaching histology and cell biology. He particularly cited Ogilvie's foresight in building in evaluation mechanisms to document use of the learning resources, continually improve them, and create a test bank that allows for random question feeding, instant grading and feedback for students.

Ogilvie serves as course director for the freshman medical course, "Cell, Tissue, and Organ Biology," and is heavily involved in teaching in the parallel curriculum as well. He has shared his expertise with colleagues nationally by publishing his innovative teaching strategies in the medical literature and delivering invited presentations on the topic. Ogilvie has been a pioneer in the use of technology for teaching at MUSC, and was a principal catalyst for the creation of the Library's 4th floor Multimedia Center, which is used by all colleges and programs. The recent accreditation site visit team to the College of Medicine singled out Ogilvie's course as "an impressive example of the use of technology" for instruction.

Ogilvie himself notes that he has always seen his role as a teacher as one of creating and organizing environments and resources to facilitate learning, believing that "the structure and environment created by a teacher can make a significant difference in the student's learning." True to his philosophy, Ogilvie has been using such innovative techniques in his teaching for nearly 30 years, paving the way for others to follow.

Along with Ogilvie, Morrisette, also was recognized as an outstanding Educator-Lecturer. An assistant professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, College of Health Professions, Morrisette is a licensed physical therapist and certified athletic trainer, and teaches in the interdisciplinary rehabilitation sciences program. He received his master's degree in curriculum and instruction from West Virginia University, and will be formally awarded the Ph.D. in physiology from the Department of Physiology at MUSC during Commencement 1998.

Morrisette is coordinator and primary teacher for the foundational musculoskeletal curriculum in the physical therapy (PT) program. Last fall, he faced an unexpected challenge when, due to the unexpected retirement of an ill colleague who was to be his co-teacher, Morrisette was called on to assume sole responsibility for restructuring and teaching this curriculum to 120 students. The challenge was compounded by the fact that for the first time, the curriculum had to be delivered via two-way compressed video distance education technology to PT students in Greenville while simultaneously being offered to on-campus students. Morrisette not only successfully coordinated and delivered this course, he served as a technical advisor and teacher to other departmental faculty members who needed assistance in developing their computer-generated instructional materials and modules for the distance education format. Morrisette also teaches courses in clinical reasoning and computer applications, and facilitates research seminars and clinical case conferences in his own college, as well as giving guest lectures to residents in physical medicine and rehabilitation.

Morrisette's role as a faculty leader in the use of educational technology for teaching was affirmed when, in March 1998, he was awarded a $15,000 MUSC Instructional Technology Innovation (ITI) grant. Morrisette will use his grant funds to develop an instructional program for teaching motion analysis using computer generated graphics and digitized video clips to help students learn concepts of human movement and biomechanics.

Morrisette's philosophy of teaching is student-centered. He said that his goals are "to have students become the best clinicians they can possibly be, and to foster a love of learning." He is committed to using a problem-based approach to teaching, believing the role of the teacher is to help students acquire the foundational knowledge and skills as a basis for inquiry and problem-solving. Then the teacher becomes a facilitator, creating learning situations "that require students to seek new knowledge, further develop their skills, and apply their knowledge to novel situations. This prevents students from being limited by the teacher's finite knowledge and creates a true learning environment for all involved."

Morrisette was nominated by four individual students, all of whom described him as approachable, supportive, and an excellent professional role model whose vast knowledge, professionalism, and teaching style command respect and motivate students to learn. One of the students noted that, "His availability, willingness to help, respect for our concerns, and encouragement have been far beyond any expectations I had ever had for a professor." Another commented, "The thing that stands out most about Dave is that he is so humble about the great things he does for his students. We could never do enough to thank him for his efforts, dedication, and determination; however, the greatest thing about him is that he does not expect us to."

The awards were presented to the recipients by Raymond Greenberg, M.D., Ph.D., vice president for academic affairs and provost, and Thomas Waring of the Health Sciences Foundation Board of Directors, at the pre-commencement dinner with President Edwards and the Board of Trustees on May 14. Each of the recipients received a $3,000 cash award, a $1,000 travel award for professional development related to teaching improvement, a plaque, a specially-designed pewter medallion to be worn with academic regalia at commencement, and a specially marked, reserved parking space in G-lot for one year.

The Teaching Excellence Awards program grew out of the university-wide education strategic plan, and is supported by the Health Sciences Foundation and the Office of the Provost. The program's purpose is to strengthen MUSC's education mission and provide appropriate recognition and reward for faculty teaching excellence.