Audrey Haynes believes an essential part of teaching is sparking the minds of students in such a way that they pursue learning as a passion, not a chore.

“Students are more motivated to learn when they have a working relationship with their teacher and when the instructor is able to share his or her own interest in the subject,” she says. “This type of interaction begins in the classroom, but often it moves outside the classroom. I have students who, while they graduated years ago, still e-mail me about politics on a regular basis.”

Haynes’s success in the classroom is facilitated by technology that she uses for interacting and communicating with students on a personal level.

“Through WebCT, I engage in conversation and debate with students outside of class,” she says. “I have found that those who are less likely to talk in class are more likely to talk on a discussion board. As students gain confidence in the virtual classroom, they are more likely to engage in class. These electronic conversations make their way into the classroom, adding new life to the discussion and enriching the overall learning experience.”

Since joining the UGA faculty in 1999, Haynes has earned a reputation as an exemplary teacher as well as an accomplished scholar.

“Excellence in teaching requires mastery of one’s subject. Dr. Haynes has not only been published in some of the most elite journals in the discipline, her work is regularly cited by leading scholars, which is particularly noteworthy considering the early stage of her career,” says Robert Grafstein, political science department head.

Haynes’s own inspiration for learning and teaching was kindled as an undergraduate in UGA’s Department of Political Science.

“I was fortunate to have teachers like Paul Gurian, Susette Talarico, Chuck Bullock, Loch Johnson, Gary Bertsch, Han Park and Eugene Miller,” says Haynes. “They were wonderful teaching models.

“Great teachers make a difference,” she also says.

Outside the UGA community, economics professor David Mustard is known for his well-publicized research on subjects including Georgia’s merit-based HOPE Scholarship program, casino gambling and gun control.

Among UGA undergraduates, however, Mustard is primarily known as an engaging and gifted teacher, equally capable of transmitting his enthusiasm for economics to a class of 15 or 150. Student evaluations of his courses are uniformly well above departmental averages.

Perhaps the highest (and most telling) praise he’s received comes from students professing little or no love for the subject.

“Really liked class, and I hate economics,” wrote one student. “Mustard is the man.”

Mustard gets rave reviews from colleagues as well. Faculty endorsing his nomination for the Russell Award included three winners of the Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professorship, the highest teaching honor given to UGA professors.

“Students are not allowed to offer knee-jerk opinions,” says Jeffry Netter, Meigs recipient and finance professor. “All of their reasoning must be founded on sound economic principles. Dr. Mustard, much more than most professors I have observed, presents all sides of an issue.”

Mustard has received numerous teaching honors including “Teacher of the Year” awards from UGA’s Economics Society (2001-2002) and Alpha Kappa Psi (2000, 2005) and the Terry College’s Outstanding Teacher Award (2004). He also was recently selected to receive the 2006 J. Hatten Howard III Teaching Award, given to young faculty who exhibit special promise in teaching Honors Program courses. Pamela B. Kleiber, associate director of UGA’s Honors Program, may have expressed Mustard’s qualifications for the Russell Award best when she wrote that he exemplified “the best qualities of a teacher and mentor.

“In my opinion,” wrote Kleiber, “Mustard is the epitome of the enlightened and engaged professor—a true good citizen of this university community.”