After twenty years of recognizing colleagues with the annual Distinguished Teaching Award (DTA), the General Education Council moved forward in 2025-26 with a series of new awards to recognize excellence. The four new awards still acknowledge that good teaching in a General Education classroom can differ from teaching a course in the major, though there are similarities. They also expand the awards into new categories.
Congratulations to the recipients of the 2025-26 General Education Awards:
- Provost Award for Excellence in General Education Teaching (formerly the DTA): Dr. Johnathan Walker
- General Education Award for Lifetime Achievement: Dr. Geary Albright
- General Education Award for Early Career Excellence: Dr. Leonard Richards
- General Education Innovation Award: Professor Karan Deengar and Dr. Natalie Kerr
Distinguished Teacher Award
Dr. Julie Sorge Way is the recipient of the General Education Distinguished Teacher Award for 2025. Dr. Julie Sorge Way received her Ph.D. from Old Dominion University and has taught literature, composition, technical writing, and WGSS at JMU since 2008. Read more about Dr. Julie Sorge Way.
Previous Winners:
- 2024: Martin Cohen
- 2023: Masoud Kaveh Baghbadorani
- 2022: Christopher Bachmann
- 2021: Graceful Pivot Award
- Spring 2020
- Daniel Blumling
- Mary Gayne
- Catherine Hessick
- Thomas Hynd
- Oscar Jud
- Morgan Smalls
- Fall 2020
- Yamilette Chacon
- David Daniel
- Danielle Derise
- Allison Fagan
- Celestine Woodruff
- CHEM 131 Team
- Spring 2020
- 2020: Michael Trocchia
- 2019: Kimberly D.R DuVall
- 2018: Claire Lyons
- 2017: Geary Albright
- 2016: Kathleen Ferraiolo
- 2015: Deborah Warnaar
- 2014: David Daniel
- 2013: Kristen St. John
- 2012: Amanda Biesecker
- 2011: Carole Nash
- 2010: John Ott
- 2009: Kit Murphy
- 2008: Michael M. Moghtader
- 2007: Jeffrey T. Andre
- 2006: Lynn S. Fichter
- 2005: Carol A. Hurney
- 2004: Craig Abrahamson
