UNLV History Professor David Holland Named Nevada Professor of the Year

UNLV history professor David Holland was named the 2011 Nevada Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE).

The awards recognize professors for their influence on teaching and commitment to undergraduate students, according to CASE. Holland was selected from a pool of nearly 300 top professors nationwide. Judges selected national and state winners based on four criteria: impact on and involvement with undergraduate students; scholarly approach to teaching and learning; contributions to undergraduate education in the institution, community and profession; and support from colleagues and current and former students.

Holland and his wife were in Washington D.C. last week to attend a reception for honorees and met Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., and Rep. Joe Heck, R-Nev.

“I have always remembered and carried with me the lessons my favorite professors and teachers taught me as a student,” said Sen. Reid in a statement. “Students at UNLV are fortunate to have such a wonderful history professor in Dr. Holland.”

Holland is an associate professor and has taught U.S. history and religion at UNLV since 2005. He received his master’s and Ph.D. at Stanford University where he was also a lecturer. He received his undergraduate degree in history at Brigham Young University.

John Lippincott, president of CASE, said in a statement that this year's national and state winners come from a broad range of academic disciplines and institutional types.

“They represent the great diversity and, therefore, one of the great strengths of American higher education," Lippincott said. “Their differences notwithstanding, they all share a passionate dedication to undergraduate teaching, an innovative approach to engaging students in the learning process and a lifelong commitment to academic exploration. We applaud their belief in the pedagogy of mutual discovery and in the principle that knowledge liberates, empowers and humanizes us all.”

The U.S. Professors of the Year Program began in 1981 and is sponsored by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. It is the only national program to recognize excellence in undergraduate teaching and mentoring.

A complete list of winners is available online at: U.S. Professors of the Year Awards.