Three Professors Designated as MASTER TEACHERS

Baylor University recently announced the designation of Master Teacher – the highest honor granted to Baylor faculty members for sustained excellence in teaching – conferred on Dr. Corey Carbonara, professor of lm and digital media, College of Arts & Sciences; Dr. Laine Scales, professor of higher education, School of Education, and associate dean of graduate studies and professional development, Graduate School; and Dr. Gaynor Yancey, professor of social work, Diana R. Garland School of Social Work.

“It is an honor and privilege to confer the lifetime Master Teacher designation upon Dr. Carbonara, Dr. Scales and Dr. Yancey. All three faculty members were unanimously recommended by the selection committee as excellent teachers, whose years of dedication and commitment to teaching and to our students have been outstanding,” interim president Dr. David Garland said. “They truly represent the transformational experience our students receive at Baylor.”

The appointments are based on the profound impact of faculty members in the classroom and on students’ lives as judged by the record of the faculty members’ achievements and the observations of the various nominators.

COREY CARBONARA

A pioneer in the field of high-definition television, Dr. Carbonara teaches in the department of lm and digital media and serves as director of the Digital Communication Technologies Project at Baylor that researches augmented reality and new immersive visual 3-D environments. He is also a Senior Research Fellow of the IC2 Institute at the University of Texas at Austin, a think-and-do tank for creativity and innovation.

“I am so humbled and blessed to be named a Master Teacher along with such incredible colleagues, whom I also wish to congratulate. This indeed is such a great honor for all of us,” Dr. Carbonara said. “Knowing the legacy of great Master Teachers who have come before us, I am still overwhelmed that this honor would be given to me. To think that this recommendation comes from current and former students and faculty, once again, is such a humbling experience.”

LAINE SCALES

Dr. Scales joined the Baylor faculty in 1999 as an assistant professor of social work, has served as associate dean in the Graduate School since 2004 and in 2008 joined the School of Education, where she teaches in the PhD program in higher education and leadership studies. Her teaching and administrative focus is on faculty development, including professional development of graduate students.

“I came to Baylor in 1999 to work alongside my own teacher, Diana Garland, who had certainly mastered the skills of teaching and administration and allowed me to learn at her elbow,” Dr. Scales said. “As a new faculty member, I got to know Baylor’s Master Teachers like Bob Baird and Tom Hanks, who generously shared their wisdom and experience with novices like me. I grew to love being in the classroom with Baylor’s curious and engaged learners, but I never dreamed I would be honored with an invitation to join the esteemed group of Master Teachers.”

GAYNOR YANCEY

Dr. Yancey joined the Baylor social work faculty in 1999 and also serves as director of the Center for Family and Community Ministries at the Diana R. Garland School of Social Work. Before joining the Baylor faculty, she worked for more than 25 years as a congregational community ministries director in inner-city Philadelphia and also served four years as executive director of the Greater Philadelphia Food Bank.

“The honor of being named a Master Teacher at Baylor University is an extremely humbling experience,” Dr. Yancey said. “Baylor is known, historically, for having an excellent faculty. Every day it is an honor to be in the company of such outstanding individuals who reflect not only good teaching and care for students but also who practice the Godly principles that are the foundation for our teaching at Baylor. We are committed, as a university, to educating our men and women for worldwide service through our Christian environment.”