The Texas A&M University System today awarded $712,150 to outstanding faculty throughout the system for the fall 2009 presentation of the Teaching Excellence Awards, a voluntary, student-selected honors program.

A total of 28 faculty members from Texas A&M University-Kingsville will share $88,250.

The 207 faculty winners systemwide will receive checks ranging from $2,500 to $10,000.

TAMUK had the second highest number of honorees behind Texas A&M-College Station.

The recipients represent the top 20 percent of those who participated in the A&M System program. The top 5 percent are awarded $5,000 to $10,000.

The next 15 percent receive $2,500 to $5,000. Awards are based on rankings from evaluations created and administered by students, with weighting for factors such as class size.

TAMUK faculty members in the top five percent are as follows:

Mario Casa De Calvo, Assistant Professor of Psychology and Sociology $5,000

Laura Garza, Assistant Professor of Psychology and Sociology $5,000

Michelle R. Johnson Vela, Associate Professor of Language and Literature $5,000

David H. Sabrio David, Professor of Language and Literature $5,000

Greg L. Sanders, Professor of Music $5,000

Cindy C, Walker-Ewert, Lecturer in Psychology and Sociology $5,000

Jaehyung Yu, Associate Professor of Physics and Geosciences $5,000.

The next 15 percent of TAMUK professors include the following:

Debbie Bravenec, Assistant Professor in Curriculum & Instruction $2,500

Mauro E. Castro, Professor of Chemistry $3,250 Xiaoliu Chi, Assistant Professor of Chemistry $2,500

Judith Cole, Professor of Music $2,500

Donal D. Daughtry, Associate Professor of Psychology and Sociology $2,500

Kenneth W. Escudero, Assistant Professor of Natural Toxin Research Center $2,500

Jean M. Escudero, Assistant Professor of Biological and Health Sciences $2,500

Stacey Gaines, Assistant Professor of Health & Kinesiology $2,500

Odette Gonzalez, Lecturer in Biological and Health Sciences $2,500

Roger Hanagriff, Associate Professor of Agronomy & Resources Sciences $2,500

Fidel Hernandez, Associate Professor at the Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute $2,500

Darin Hoskisson, Assistant Professor of Music $2,500

Marco Iniguez, Lecturer in Language and Literature $2,500

Andrea R. Litt, Assistant Professor at the Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute $2,500

Kimberly C. McCuistion, Assistant Professor at the King Ranch Institute for Ranch Management $2,500

Carl D. Murphy, isiting Associate Professor of Chemical and Natural Gas Engineering $2,500

Ryan Rhoades, Assistant Professor of Agronomy & Resources Sciences $2,500

Susan W, Sabrio, Lecturer in Mathematics $2,500

Greta Schuster, Associate Professor of Agronomy & Resources Sciences $2,500

Jacqueline Thomas, Professor of Language and Literature $2,500

Adria P. Vasquez, Lecturer in Accounting and Computer Information Systems $2,500

The Teaching Excellence Awards were initiated by Chancellor Michael D. McKinney in 2008 to honor and financially reward the system’s top teachers as selected by students. All faculty members who teach at least a 3-hour course are eligible.

“It’s important that we provide a way for our teachers to be recognized for their excellence in the classroom,” McKinney said.

“Especially when it’s the students, the ones directly affected by teaching, who have taken the time to nominate those who have affected their lives so positively,” he said.