Every year, William Woods University students have the opportunity to nominate their favorite instructor for the Louis D. Beaumont Dad's Association Distinguished Professor Award for Excellence in Teaching.
Students and coworkers described this year's winner, assistant professor of psychology Caroline Boyer Ferhat, using glowing terms such as "hard-working," "goes above and beyond for her students" and "very energetic and innovative."
According to a press release, one of the seven students who nominated Boyer Ferhat for the honor said she was "a wonderful, hard-working, determined lady who has really made William Woods a better academic place in which to learn."
Another wrote that Boyer Ferhat "has helped the department to blossom and reach into the community."
A different student praised Boyer Ferhat for her ability to balance her family and her devotion to her students.
"While she is a wife and mother, she manages to find the time to assist her students when we need her, as well as be a part of the university that she shows she loves by working with us and participating in campus activities," that student said.
Boyer Ferhat said in the release that she was "honored to have received such an award, especially because it is for doing something that I love."
"Teaching at William Woods University these past three years has been an amazing experience," Boyer Ferhat said in the release. "I have truly enjoyed being a part of such a wonderful university and have appreciated the opportunity to develop relationships with my students."
According to her profile on the WWU website, Boyer Ferhat's areas of expertise are developmental psychology and cognitive and early childhood development.
Boyer Ferhat, who has been with William Woods for three years, previously taught at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., where she received the Elyse B. and Donald R. Lehman Graduate Student Research Award as a graduate student.
She is a member of several psychological associations, including the American Psychological Association and the Association for Psychological Science.
Sherry McCarthy, William Woods' vice president and dean of academic affairs said Tuesday that Boyer Ferhat's strength is her passion for her subject area and for teaching.
"She's very enthusiastic about her courses and very energetic and innovative about how she approaches her classroom and her teaching," McCarthy said.