In March, the University of Kentucky Alumni Association honored six recipients of this year’s Great Teacher Awards.
Launched in 1961, they are the longest-running UK award recognizing accomplished and passionate educators.
In order to receive the honor, teachers must first be nominated by a student. The UK Alumni Association Great Teacher Award Committee, in cooperation with the student organization Omicron Delta Kappa, then makes the final selection. Recipients receive a commemorative award and stipend.
Douglas Klein, lecturer and director of the Innovation Center in the Stanley and Karen Pigman College of Engineering, is one of this year’s distinguished Great Teacher Award recipients.
“The end goal of teaching is, you want students to see value in what they’re doing,” Klein said. “Engineering students are already motivated. I try to recognize that and develop a classroom structure that lets them know I take that seriously, and I also want them to be successful.”
“I’ve had experiences with Professor Klein inside the classroom and out, and everything about him is amazing,” Nathan Jones, student nominator, wrote.
Klein earned his bachelor’s degree from Morehead State University in 2006 and his master’s degree from Eastern Kentucky University in 2012. He joined UK in 2014 to teach engineering exploration, which introduces students to the problem-solving processes central to computer science.
“I can’t make engineering easy, but I can definitely make it more approachable,” Klein continued. “If you’re the engineer who can be dynamic and work well with other people — wow, you’re a valuable person.”
As director of the Innovation Center, a makerspace on campus, Klein helps students bring their ideas to life — whether for class projects, team competitions or entrepreneurial ventures. “I often ask myself how I can connect students with the resources they need to succeed, so they can earn this degree and go out and change the world,” he said.
Klein also won UK’s 2022-23 Outstanding Teaching Award.
To learn more about what makes Klein a “Great Teacher,” check out the video above and his “Behind the Blue” podcast episode.
UKNow will continue to feature Great Teachers in the coming months.
As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.
