Three educators from the University of Georgia have been honored as recipients of the Richard B. Russell Awards for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, which is the university’s premier recognition for early career teaching achievement.

The 2025 Russell Award honorees are:

• Harrison P. Frye, associate professor of political science within the School of Public and International Affairs;
• Glenna L. Read, associate professor of advertising at the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication; and
• Alexander T. Strauss, assistant professor of ecology at the Odum School of Ecology.

“The winners of the Richard B. Russell Awards this year have shown an unwavering commitment to enhancing excellence in undergraduate education at the University of Georgia,” stated S. Jack Hu, the university’s senior vice president for academic affairs and provost. “Their innovative teaching strategies and commitment to active learning principles foster a challenging, engaging, and meaningful classroom environment for their students.”

Harrison P. Frye

Frye, a political theorist, concentrates on provocative inquiries related to politics and society in his courses. While exploring such subjects may present challenges, Frye cultivates a welcoming classroom atmosphere that encourages vigorous yet reasoned discussion. He frequently assigns topics that require students to argue perspectives they do not personally believe.

“Students often mistakenly think that arguing is merely defending a viewpoint,” noted Frye. “In truth, the most articulate arguments recognize potential flaws in their stance and then address these concerns.”

To assist students in mastering material fraught with substantial disagreement, Frye emphasizes three fundamental objectives.

Firstly, he seeks to help students grasp the intricacies of challenging topics. Secondly, he aims to facilitate an understanding of perspectives they oppose. Lastly, he expects students to develop the ability to produce strong, coherent papers that elucidate and persuasively justify stances on pivotal political questions.

In all his classes, Frye minimizes traditional lectures, employing a Socratic method that encourages students to elaborate or rephrase their ideas. Numerous writing assignments—along with opportunities to revise papers in response to Frye’s feedback—allow students to refine their thoughts and rationale.

The transformation in Frye’s approach to writing assignments has shifted his students’ focus from merely achieving a specific grade to mastering the subject matter. He aspires that this evolution leaves a lasting impact and aids students in applying lessons on critical thinking and appreciating alternative viewpoints beyond the classroom.

Glenna L. Read

Read instructs a pivotal advertising course that is demanding for both students and educators. This class on media strategy and activation places a strong emphasis on strategic thinking and mathematical principles, as students work through the creation of a media plan.

To captivate students and meet the challenging course goals, Read has integrated a wealth of innovative teaching techniques. Based on student feedback, she has gamified the section concerning ratings math, allowing students to compete in solving problems with key formulas. Every semester, she revamps the course and includes more active learning strategies to pique student interest in critical thinking. Furthermore, Read highlights how the course material aligns with her students’ professional aspirations.

Her research investigates the application of biometric tools in advertising, enabling companies to comprehend consumer reactions to their advertisements. She incorporates discussions about these technologies in her classes, introducing students to evolving tools before they enter the workforce.

“My teaching philosophy implies that my work is never complete,” she remarked. “I will continually strive to innovate and enhance educational outcomes for undergraduate students.”

Alexander T. Strauss

Strauss aims to spark his students’ curiosity, sharpen their critical thinking skills, and nurture their scientific understanding.

Since joining UGA in 2020, Strauss has redesigned and taught three of the four essential classes at the Odum School of Ecology multiple times. By integrating hands-on fieldwork, cooperative projects, and practical applications of ecological theory, he ensures students receive a comprehensive education that equips them to tackle real-world challenges in their future endeavors.

Strauss has carefully restructured his flagship course, population and community ecology, with innovations like think-pair-shares, organized discussions of articles from primary literature, and scaffolded problem sets where students analyze ecological data using R, a programming language for statistical analysis and data visualization. Additionally, he allocates a significant portion of the class to activities and assignments that target math anxiety. Lectures are interspersed with exercises that require students to derive equations and illustrate relationships on individual whiteboards. Students execute mathematical calculations, create graphs, and identify ecological patterns in real datasets. Group research projects are another major aspect of the course.

Aware that students hail from diverse backgrounds and pursue various career paths, Strauss endeavors to teach in a manner that resonates with as many students as possible.

“I believe that the only means to confront the world’s global environmental dilemmas is to address them collaboratively, either directly or indirectly, from diverse perspectives,” said Strauss.

Nominations for the Russell Awards for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching are put forward by deans and evaluated by a committee comprised of senior faculty and undergraduate students. Faculty members on tenure track who have served at UGA for at least three years and no more than ten years are eligible for this award. The awards receive support from the Richard B. Russell Foundation located in Atlanta, with each recipient being awarded a one-time monetary prize of $10,000.

For further information on the Russell Awards and to view a list of previous recipients, visit https://provost.uga.edu/academic-excellence/honors-awards/teaching-awards-professorships/richard-russell-awards-for-excellence-in-undergraduate-teaching/.

The article Three UGA faculty members receive 2025 Russell Awards for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching was originally published on UGA Today.