Distinguished Teaching Award Recipient: Lori Cherok, with Dean Anthony Delitto
“She is the epitome of what a professor should be…a gifted lecturer who manages the classroom with poise.”
Every year since 1999, SHRS has awarded the Dean’s Distinguished Teaching Award in recognition of a faculty member’s excellence and dedication to the school’s teaching mission. Lori Cherok, interim director of the Nutrition Science program and assistant professor in the Department of Sports Medicine and Nutrition, was announced as this year’s winner at the SHRS Fall Faculty Meeting in October. Along with a personalized award, Cherok received a $2,500 grant that can be used towards enhancing her teaching through travel, equipment, textbooks and other resources or activities.
Dean Anthony Delitto said of Cherok, “For more than 20 years, she has demonstrated her considerable commitment and enthusiasm for the dietetics profession, the preparation of the next generation of dietetics professionals and ultimately to the improvement of the quality of life for patients and clients in need of nutrition and dietetic education and intervention. She is a role model for her students and peers alike!”
Cherok was clearly heartfelt in describing the honor of this recognition. “This award means more to me than I can describe. I can’t imagine what else I would want to do at this stage in my life. Interacting with students in the classroom is my favorite part of the job. I get inspired whenever I discuss nutrition therapy for a specific disease, and I can see the students’ faces light up with interest. I am so grateful for the letters of support written by my current students, alumni and my colleagues in the Department of Sports Medicine and Nutrition.”
Lori Cherok Teaching Students
The application process can be rigorous and the selection highly competitive. This was the third time that Cherok applied, which she almost didn’t try to complete. She credits Department Chair Kevin Conley with encouraging her to apply one more time, and Vice Chair Deb Hutcheson for her continued support.
This year stewardship of the nomination and selection process was handed over to the Educational Excellence Advisory Council (EEAC). In her role as chair of the EEAC, Associate Dean for Academic Outreach and Advising Kathy Kelly noted “It was evident from Cherok’s dossier that her students felt respected and heard. She’s kind and compassionate, yet a good teacher who uses evidence-based research to support her teaching methods. She has both pieces: the expertise of the discipline and the care for her students.”
Cherok plans to use the grant to attend the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo next fall to gain knowledge from its sessions to use in her lectures.
The Dean’s Distinguished Teaching Award is unique in that it recognizes teaching faculty who don’t often receive the recognition or number of awards that research faculty do. Cherok explains, “I believe that awards like the Dean’s Distinguished Teaching Award are crucial to recognize the importance of teaching and to boost morale for our hardworking SHRS faculty. My only wish is that more than one awardee could be chosen each year based on the large number of excellent teaching faculty we have in SHRS.”
Kelly also recognized this need, saying that the committee is exploring ideas to expand the award categories to reflect the breadth of valuable contributions SHRS faculty make teaching students.
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Published December 1, 2022