Department of Entomology associate professor Dr. Clyde Sorenson and professor emeritus Dr. Ron Kuhr were named in February as winners of the Gertrude Cox Award for Innovative Excellence in Teaching and Learning with Technology. The award recognizes the integration of new technologies into effective teaching strategies.

Sorenson and Kuhr received their awards for the development of the Web-based entomology course called "Insects and People" (ENT 201).

"This course is highly rated by students across campus, as are the two teachers," said Dr. Jim Harper, head of the Department of Entomology, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. "They use an extremely varied, multimedia approach to this course that is being used as a model of how to teach, not only on campus, but nationally to an ever greater extent."

ENT 201 is an introduction to the world of insects and how they interact with people. The course includes a survey of insect history, diversity, structure, function and behavior, along with examples of impacts insects have had on human history, society and culture.

Listing the achievements of Sorenson and Kuhr with the course, the Cox Web site noted "the seamlessness with which they integrate the high-tech with the extremely low-tech pedagogical principles and practices. They truly provide a standard all instructors can emulate as they design and prepare their own Web material."

Another CALS faculty member, Dr. David Shew of Plant Pathology, received the second place Cox Award for the Web site of his course "Introduction to Plant Pathology."

The Gertrude Cox Award, honoring the creative pedagogy of N.C. State University's faculty and technical staff, was endowed in 2002 and named for Cox, called "the first lady of statistics," who came to the university in 1940 and established its Department of Statistics.

-Terri Leith