MEDIA ADVISORY: MU to Award $50,000 for Teaching Excellence This Monday

MU professors to be honored with Kemper Fellowships

March 31st, 2014

WHAT: For the first time since the William T. Kemper Fellowships for Teaching Excellence began, all five fellowships will be awarded in a single day. The 2014 Kemper Fellowships, which include $10,000 cash awards, will be given to outstanding teachers at the University of Missouri. MU Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin and Commerce Bank Chair Jim Schatz will surprise the teachers during their classes.

WHO: Five outstanding MU faculty members.

WHEN &
WHERE: Monday, March 31
9:45 a.m. – Media should meet in front of the chancellor’s office, Room 105 in Jesse Hall. The awards will be given out consecutively with a small break at 11 a.m. The final award will be given at 12:45 p.m.

The awards are a surprise to the recipients, so classroom locations will not be revealed until immediately prior to the presentations.

NOTE: Media wishing to attend need to contact Nathan Hurst, 573-882-6217 or hurstn@missouri.edu, by 9 a.m. Monday morning so transportation can be arranged.

The William T. Kemper Fellowships for Teaching Excellence were created in 1991 with a $500,000 gift to honor outstanding MU teachers. Commerce Bank manages the trust fund.

Kemper, a 1926 graduate of MU, was a well-known civic leader in Kansas City until his death in 1989. His 52-year career in banking included top positions in banks in Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma.