UNC J-school's Chris Roush named N.C. Professor of the Year

The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education have named UNC journalism school's Chris Roush the 2010 North Carolina Professor of the Year.

The Carnegie Foundation will present the award, which recognizes professors for their influence on teaching and their commitment to undergraduate students, at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., today (Nov. 18).

Roush is the Walter E. Hussman Sr. Distinguished Scholar in business journalism and the founding director of the Carolina Business News Initiative. Last year, Roush was honored with the Scripps Howard Foundation National Journalism Teacher of the Year award.

Roush received his bachelor of arts degree in history and journalism from Auburn University and his master of arts in mass communication from the University of Florida. He is the author of two books about business journalism. In July and August of 2007, Roush conducted a three-week business journalism module at the Durban University of Technology in Durban, South Africa, after receiving a grant from the Fulbright Senior Specialists program administered through the U.S. Department of State.

CASE and the Carnegie Foundation have been partners in offering the U.S. Professors of the Year awards program since 1981. TIAA-CREF, one of America's leading financial services organizations and higher education's premier retirement system, became the principal sponsor for the awards ceremony in 2000. Additional support for the program is received from a number of higher education associations, including Phi Beta Kappa which sponsors an evening congressional reception.

This year, there are 38 state winners. CASE assembled two preliminary panels of judges to select finalists. The Carnegie Foundation then convened the third and final panel, which selected four national winners. CASE and Carnegie select state winners from top entries resulting from the judging process. Each was selected from faculty members nominated by colleges and universities throughout the country.

The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching was founded in 1905 by Andrew Carnegie “to do all things necessary to encourage, uphold and dignify the profession of teaching.” The foundation is the only advanced-study center for teachers in the world and the third-oldest foundation in the nation. Its nonprofit research activities are conducted by a small group of distinguished scholars.

The Council for Advancement and Support of Education is the largest international association of education institutions, serving nearly 3,400 universities, colleges, schools, and related organizations in 59 countries. CASE is the leading resource for professional development, information, and standards in the fields of educational fundraising, communications, marketing and alumni relations.