COLUMBIA, Mo. – Gary L. Phillips, Ph.D., associate professor of communications at Missouri State University-West Plains, recently was honored by Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon 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 Wednesday, April 3, at the Reynolds Alumni Center on the campus of the University of Missouri in Columbia. 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.
“Dr. Phillips has distinguished himself this year as Faculty Senate chair, as the advisor and sponsor for several student organizations and events, and most importantly as an outstanding teacher in the classroom,” said Missouri State-West Plains Chancellor Drew Bennett, who accompanied Phillips to the luncheon. “We are very proud to have him on our campus. He is a role model for teachers everywhere.”
In nominating Phillips for the award, his peers noted his dedicated service to students, fellow faculty and the university, and praised him for putting student learning at the “forefront of his agenda. He has developed and implemented new teaching methodologies which encourage students to focus on the learning instead of the grade received,” they said, adding, “students report that he makes learning fun.”
His peers pointed out Phillips regularly attends professional development conferences and networks with colleagues all over the world to “keep abreast of new developments” in communication, and he is often asked to present at conferences to share his expertise.
“As an advisor, his students can come to him anytime, not just during specific periods,” they added. “He has an open door policy and makes sure that students know they can visit him at any time.”
Phillips was praised for being a “team player” and striving to give everyone an opportunity to contribute their ideas and talents to decision-making processes within the Faculty Senate and among the campus’ administration. “As president of the Faculty Senate, Gary frequently acts as moderator for difficult subjects,” his peers said in his nomination. “He has a unique ability to bring important matters to consensus.”
Phillips has taught a total of 28 years, 15 of which have been full time. He has been at Missouri State-West Plains for the past seven years. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Speech Communication from Arkansas State University in Jonesboro in 1984 and a Master of Arts in Speech Communications and Theatre Arts in 1986 from the same institution. In 1993, he earned a Ph.D. in Speech Communications from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.
For more information about the degree offerings at Missouri State University-West Plains, visit the campus’ website, wp.missouristate.edu.