AFS recognizes Rudd with Distinguished Achievement Award for Teaching
Published Mar 30, 2021
Dr. LeeAnn “Mysti” Rudd, instructional associate professor of English in the Liberal Arts Program, has received the prestigious Distinguished Achievement Award for Teaching from the Texas A&M University Association of Former Students.
These awards are among the most prestigious awards presented to faculty or staff members at Texas A&M University. The selection is rigorous and the recipients are chosen by a campus-wide committee composed of faculty, students, former students and staff. The teaching award honors superior classroom teachers “whose command of their respective discipline, teaching methodologies, pervasive caring, communication skills, and commitment to the learning process exemplify the meaning of teacher/mentor in its highest sense,” and is testimony to the esteem in which Rudd is held by her colleagues.
Rudd earned her Ph.D. in English composition/TESOL from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 2012 and has more than 20 years of experience in higher education. She joined our liberal arts faculty in 2012 and teaches engineering students the writing skills they will need to succeed in the workplace. In 2014, she received a Dean’s Initiative Grant that funded Best Writing, an annual collection of student writing that showcases the writing talents of Aggies who excel at thinking and writing critically as well as creatively through an array of genres, from poetry to personal essays, short stories, technical papers and research reports.
Since 2015, Rudd has led student learning support services in the Center for Teaching and Learning where she mentors peer tutors as well as writing consultants and most recently started a popular Supplemental Instruction program to assist students in succeeding in historically difficult courses. She also teaches — and mentors several CTL staff to co-teach — ASCC 101: Application of Learning Theories to College Studies to students who are conditionally accepted or on academic probation. Her background in student persistence and engagement was developed through her dissertation research on the difficulties that students often experience in making the transition from high school to college-level writing.
This is the second time Dr. Rudd has been recognized for her excellence in teaching by the Association of Former Students: In 2017 her dedication to teaching and learning was recognized by with the College Level Distinguished Achievement Award for Teaching.
Dr. César Octavio Malavé, dean of Texas A&M at Qatar, said, “Dr. Rudd embodies the Aggie core values of excellence and integrity, and demonstrates these every day in her teaching and learning activities. Her dedication to our students and to developing in them the communications skills they need to succeed in the workplace and in life have set a new standard for all of us as educators and I am proud to call her a colleague.”
Dr. Joseph Ura, Liberal Arts Program chair, said, “Dr. Rudd is outstanding instructor and an innovative leader in offering transformative expressive extracurricular programs for our students. I am thrilled for her excellent work at Texas A&M University at Qatar to be recognized by our colleagues in College Station and by the Association of Former Students. Her award is a tremendous and well-deserved honor.”