Daily Pioneer News

PLATTEVILLE - The University of Wisconsin System Office of Professional Development (OPID) has recently named Annie Kinwa-Muzinga, professor of agriculture at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, a 2007-08 Wisconsin Teaching Fellow. Fellows are selected from UW System faculty and academic staff in their first six years of college teaching who display strong potential to become outstanding teachers at the undergraduate level.

Kinwa-Muzinga will attend OPID's Faculty College at the University of Wisconsin-Richland in May and the Summer Institute at UW-Madison in June. She will also complete a classroom research project during the fellowship year focusing on a best practice and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. For her project, Kinwa-Muzinga will develop appropriate assessment tools using a statistical approach to evaluate student learning outcomes with respect to student learning styles and base knowledge in agribusiness. She will also provide educational opportunities to instructors to interact and make informed decisions about the agribusiness curriculum.

In nominating Kinwa-Muzinga, Mark Zidon, director of the UWP School of Agriculture, noted her ongoing commitment to teaching excellence.

"Dr. Kinwa-Muzinga has actively worked to improve her teaching by adding real-life activities in her classes. She brings a rich cultural diversity to her students," said Zidon.

Kinwa-Muzinga has been teaching at UWP since 2002 and has developed and revised seven courses during that time. She has been active in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning through the UWP Teaching Excellence Center and through OPID and the UW System Women of Science. She is the recipient of several grants and awards, including the NACTA Teaching Award of Merit in 2002 and the 2005 Outstanding Faculty Member of the UWP School of Agriculture.

Sue Price is a professor of animal science who works closely with Kinwa-Muzinga.

"Dr. Kinwa-Muzinga brings a wonderful perspective to the classroom. She is an excellent teacher, a caring and enthusiastic person and a great role model for our students. She touches many lives every day with her deep character and amazing approach to life," said Price.

Contact: Mark Zidon, director, UWP School of Agriculture, (608) 342-1393, zidon@uwplatt.edu Prepared by: Evelyn Martens, UWP Public Relations. (608) 342-1194, martense@uwplatt.edu