Associate Professor Steven P. Lewis named Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor

Five University of Georgia faculty members have been named Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professors, the university’s highest recognition for excellence in instruction.

One of the five 2022 Meigs Professors is Steven P. Lewis, Associate Professor of Physics.

Lewis is an inspirational instructor who cares deeply for the intellectual growth of his students. In the classroom, he uses active learning strategies to help students make connections between course material, their own experiences and the world they inhabit. While at UGA, he has pioneered the use of Eric Mazur’s “Peer Instruction” pedagogy in large introductory physics courses. This method uses the think-pair-share strategy in parallel with lecturing to help students build a strong conceptual understanding of the material while also building problem-solving and communications skills.

Lewis also has been instrumental in introducing the SCALE-UP pedagogy, which facilitates active and collaborative learning, to UGA. As the co-leader of a SCALE-UP physics course, Lewis helped oversee the remodeling of classroom spaces in the Physics Building to make them more conducive to student-centered pedagogies. His vision for reimagining the spaces of STEM teaching has inspired several other departments on campus, as well as the Science Learning Center.

Lewis is the recipient of numerous university awards and honors, including the National Science Foundation CAREER Award, the General Sandy Beaver Teaching Professorship, the Creative Teaching Award, the Sandy Beaver Excellence in Teaching Award and the Lilly Teaching Fellowship. He is also a co-director of the Lilly Teaching Fellows program.

“Meigs Professors are an elite group of faculty members at an institution that places a great value on outstanding instruction,” said S. Jack Hu, the university’s senior vice president for academic affairs and provost. “I congratulate the recipients of this significant honor and thank them for their exemplary dedication to our students.”

The professors joining Dr. Lewis in this group are:

• Rebecca Matthew, associate professor in the School of Social Work;
• Patricia Moore, professor of entomology in the College of Agricultural and Environmental
  Sciences;
• Lance Palmer, professor of financial planning, housing and consumer economics in the
  College of Family and Consumer Sciences; and
• Sarah Shannon, associate professor of sociology in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences.

You can read more about the 2022 Meigs Professors in this UGA Today article, by Carolyn Payton:
https://news.uga.edu/five-faculty-members-named-meigs-distinguished-teaching-professors/