University Honors Williams for Teaching Excellence
Dr. Ray C. Williams, chairman of the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Dentistry’s Department of Periodontology, has received a 2008 University Teaching Award, the highest campuswide recognition for teaching excellence.
Dr. Ray Williams is pictured at his regular meeting with periodontology residents. Standing, left to right, are Dr. Ryan Serra, Dr. Antonino Crivello and Dr. Sheppard McKenzie; and seated, left to right, Dr. Patricia Diaz, clinical assistant professor Dr. Nadine Brodala, Dr. Ronan Allen and Dr. Steven Van Scoyoc.
Williams received a Distinguished Teaching Award for Post-Baccalaureate Instruction; these awards were given to four full-time faculty members and carry a one-time stipend of $5,000.
Williams and the other 20 honorees campuswide, selected in nine categories, were recognized during halftime at the recent Carolina-Virginia Tech men’s basketball game. The honorees will be further recognized by Chancellor James Moeser at an awards banquet this spring.
The University Committee on Teaching Awards, affiliated with the Office of the Provost, reviews nominees, collects additional information and recommends nominees to the chancellor on six of the nine award categories, including the post-baccalaureate teaching award.
Within the School of Dentistry, Williams is the Straumann distinguished professor of dentistry. Before joining the University in 1994, he was head of the Harvard School of Dental Medicine’s Department of Periodontology and associate dean for graduate education.
Williams received the American Academy of Periodontology’s Outstanding Educator Award in 2004, given to “an exemplary periodontal faculty member who has been an inspired and dedicated teacher.”
“Dr. Ray Williams reflects his commitment to academic dentistry in many tangible ways, but one of the most remarkable to observe is the way he encourages his colleagues and the residents within the periodontology program,” said Dean John N. Williams. “His words and actions, his interactions with others, show his dedication to teaching and to advancing dental education.”
Added Dr. Patricia Diaz, a third-year resident in the periodontology program, “Dr. Williams is a great mentor; he cares for the professional development and future of all his students. He tailors constructive criticism and advice to the needs of each student, always taking into consideration your career plans and niche where you would like to develop as a professional. This is a very unique quality in a mentor.”
- The University Gazette contributed to this story
