Timothy Paine received the award for his innovative teaching methods and service to students
RIVERSIDE, Calif. (www.ucr.edu) — A University of California, Riverside professor of entomology has received an award for innovative teaching methods and service to students from the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU), U.S. Department of Agriculture and the American Association of State Colleges and Universities.
Timothy Paine received the Excellence in College and University Teaching Awards for Food and Agricultural Sciences award at the 128th APLU Annual Meeting, which is currently taking place in Indianapolis, Ind. He will receive $2,000 to be used to improve teaching. He is one of nine recipients of awards in that category.
“Educating students and inspiring young minds is at the very heart of public universities’ mission,” said Ian Maw, vice president of food, agriculture and natural resources at APLU. “The impact that educators have on their students can last a lifetime and these awardees have helped their students realize their aspirations and serve as an inspirations to fellow educators.”
During his 28-year career at the UC Riverside, Paine has taught lecture classes ranging in size from five students in specialized graduate courses to 527 students in core introductory classes. Additionally, he and colleagues developed a class to expose advanced graduate students to approaches for developing life science courses and allow them to practice active learning and scientific teaching approaches.
Paine served as Department of Entomology chair, College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences divisional dean, and program leader for agricultural policy and pest management in the UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources. He has mentored teaching faculty, and as a member of the UC Riverside Academy of Distinguished Teachers, is an organizer and participant in the campus Excellence in Teaching seminar series and First Year Faculty Teaching Excellence seminar series.
Paine was named a National Academies Education Mentor in 2014–15 and 2015–16. He received UC Riverside’s 2004 Academic Senate Distinguished Teaching Award and 2010 Academy of Distinguished Teachers Innovative Teaching Award and was a 2013 UC Riverside Distinguished Professor of Teaching. The Entomological Society of America awarded him the Pacific Branch Distinguished Achievement in Teaching Award five times and the national society award in 2013. He is a Fellow of the Entomological Society of America and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Additionally, Paine maintains an active and internationally recognized research program. He studies the ecosystems in which insects, plants and climate conditions interact and he develops bio-control agents to manage accelerating rates of invading pests to reduce detrimental impacts on crops and native plants.