Christine Kydd named Delaware Professor of the Year

10 a.m., Nov. 14, 2003--UD professor Christine Kydd has been selected as the 2003 Delaware Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

Christine Kydd, associate professor of business administration

A professor of business administration at UD for the past 20 years, Kydd was honored for her classroom innovation and ability to reach students at a luncheon ceremony Thursday, Nov. 13, in Washington, D.C.

The award, which is recognized as one of the most prestigious honors a professor can receive, is given on both state and national levels to university faculty who exhibit outstanding undergraduate teaching techniques. The selection process is highly competitive and requires candidates to submit five letters of recommendation as well as a two-page statement outlining their teaching strategies and philosophy.

Kydd, who was surprised to learn that the University had elected her as a candidate, had no trouble finding colleagues and students to write her letters of recommendation, but said that writing the statement challenged her.

“It was difficult because it was supposed to explain my teaching philosophy and outline what I’d done in the classroom,” she said. “I wrote about using technology and incorporating it within the regular material, because in the classroom I use computers as teaching tools.

“I use practical examples and encourage hands-on activities, so students often work on actual solutions to real problems. There are many computer programs that emphasize problem-solving skills, so I incorporate them into the coursework.”

Kydd, who said she is always looking for new ways to keep students engaged, added that she is hoping to increase the type of technology-assisted instruction that allows for trial-and-error exploration. “I’m considering moving toward a computer-based learning approach, because this seems to be a good way to get students more involved and interested in the problems,” she said.

“A lot of the problems of operational management can be solved by knowing which model to apply and then knowing how to set it up and how to follow it, so I’m thinking that instead of me just showing students all these models, I could give them a set of problems and let them work in groups to figure out which model they would apply, how they would set it up, and how they would run it on the computer so that they could get an answer and interpret the results.”

Kydd wasn’t at the luncheon ceremony in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 13; she was teaching a class then. But, she said, she is extremely pleased by the award. Several days before the ceremony, Kydd said, “I’m really honored to be a recipient, and I’d like to attend the luncheon, but I also have to teach class that day.”

A member of the UD faculty since 1983, Kydd earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Bucknell University, an MBA from Drexel University and a doctoral degree from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business. She has published and presented numerous articles on information systems and technology and has received several grants and teaching awards, including UD’s Center for Teaching Effectiveness Grant (with Diane Ferry) in 2001 and the University’s Excellence-in-Teaching Award in 1995.

Article by Becca Hutchinson
Photo by Jack Buxbaum

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