JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Frank Priest, professor of English at Missouri State University-West Plains, recently was honored by Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens with the Missouri Council on Public Higher Education’s Governor’s Award for Excellence in Education.
The 15 recipients of this year’s award were recognized during a luncheon in their honor on Thursday, April 5, at the Scruggs University Center on the campus of Lincoln University in Jefferson City.
The annual award honors outstanding faculty from post-secondary public schools, colleges and universities within the state. The recipients were selected by their respective institutions for effective teaching, innovation in course design and delivery, effective advising, service to the institution’s community, and commitment to high standards of excellence.
“Mr. Priest is one of our finest and most dedicated faculty members,” Missouri State-West Plains Chancellor Drew Bennett said. “His teaching and concern for students provides a standard for all to aspire.”
In nominating Priest for the award, his peers pointed out that, in addition to teaching a variety of English classes, he also teaches dual credit courses to area high schools and has assisted in broadening the experience and perspectives of faculty and students interested in study abroad programs.
INVOLVED IN OZARKS STUDIES SYMPOSIUM
He continues to work with colleagues to produce and promote the annual Ozarks Studies Symposium, and he donated his private collection of Ozarks literature and other books signed by their authors to the Garnett Library in hopes of inspiring students to write and faculty to share similar resources.
Priest also has been active in professional development on local, regional and national levels. He has presented his research on the development of enhanced online teaching and learning at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro’s Lilly Conferences for University Teaching and Learning.
He continues his active involvement in faith-based endeavors, such as mission trips to the Ukraine and Mexico, and he supports a number of activities that promote education and creativity by teaching poetry writing to students at area schools.
Priest received a Bachelor of Arts in Writing from Missouri State University in 1994 and a Master of Fine Arts in Writing from Washington University in 1996. He has been a member of the Missouri State-West Plains faculty for 20 years and will become chair of the Faculty Senate this summer.
For more information about degree offerings at Missouri State-West Plains and how you can apply, visit www.wp.missouristate.edu or call 417-255-7955.