Bowie State University News March 4, 2020 Horacio Sierra Receives Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching A Bowie State University literature and cultural studies professor who uses experiential learning to promote student success is being honored with a Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching by the University System of Maryland (USM) Board of Regents. The Faculty Awards are the highest honor granted to exemplary USM faculty. Associate Professor Horacio Sierra uses out-of-the-box teaching methods to encourage his students to apply their knowledge and critical thinking skills. As part of the curriculum, he leads field trips to live performances of William Shakespeare plays and exhibitions at art museums in the region. He regularly invites guest lecturers to speak to his classes, including state legislators, pop culture icons and civil rights activists. In 2018, he led students on a cultural immersion trip to Mexico City during spring break. Each Faculty Award carries a $2,000 prize provided by the institutions and the USM Foundation. USM Chancellor Jay A. Perman and Board of Regents Chair Linda Gooden will present the awards at the next scheduled meeting of the full board on Friday, May 1 at Bowie State University. "Dr. Horacio Sierra is passionate about teaching and loves seeing his students apply the knowledge and critical thinking skills that they have acquired to real-life situations and for human improvement," said Bowie State University President Aminta H. Breaux. "He is unique with his pedagogy, because his teaching involves experiential learning, creative or innovative curricular, and dynamic learning designs. Dr. Sierra has a guiding belief in the importance of immersing students in extracurricular activities to enable them to gain rich cultural experiences that widen their mental horizon." Dr. Sierra has designed innovative courses that challenge traditional approaches to teaching literature and language analysis, including the first queer cultural studies course at a historically black college or university (HBCU). He also started a course on graphic novels and another one on popular songs and artists. He established an English internship program, so that students can earn academic credit for work related to their degree. With his class assignments, he promotes the use of technology and creative expression to assess student learning, instead of traditional research papers. With this flexibility, some students have performed Shakespeare scenes in acting troupes, produced podcasts and mini-documentaries, created a research-based Playbill and worked with a campus librarian to develop an artifact-rich public exhibit. He also secured grants to fund innovations to improve student learning performance. In 2017, he helped students in an introductory English course save money on textbooks by providing access to free open source educational materials, using a $1,500 Maryland Open Source Textbook grant from USM's William E. Kirwan Center for Academic Innovation. In addition to the USM Board of Regents Faculty Award, Dr. Sierra has received recent teaching honors, including the 2019 Bowie State University Presidential Excellence in Teaching Award. SANDRA M. PHOENIX HBCU Library Alliance Executive Director Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library 111 James P. Brawley Drive SW Atlanta GA 30314 404-978-2118 (office) 404-702-5854 (cell) http://www.hbculibraries.org<http://www.hbculibraries.org/> sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> Honor the ancestors, honor the children and those yet to come. Building Capacity for Humanities Special Collections at HBCUs - Become an ally and partner with us to protect, preserve and share a more authentic record of American history. Follow this link http://hbculibraries.org/humanities-2019.html for more information. Follow this link http://hbculibraries.org/ and click on the Donate Now button to invest in this project. Your support is appreciated. Follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/hbculibraryalliance1/ and Twitter at https://twitter.com/HBCULibAlliance Check out "PULSE!" The HBCU Library Alliance's News Source! - https://hbculibraryalliance.wordpress.com/