Please join us in congratulating FST Professor and Chair Christopher Simmons on earning the 2023 UC Davis Academic Senate's Distinguished Teaching Award for Graduate and Professional Training! The website description of the award is brief: "Presented to outstanding instructors who have greatly impacted their students."

FST Associate Professor Ned Spang describes Chris' accomplishments more specifically: "This is an important and well-deserved accolade for all of Chris’ over-and-above efforts to provide world-class pedagogy to our students, from his uncanny ability to explain complex topics with complete clarity to his jaw-dropping capabilities to produce visual graphics, animations, and 3D virtual reality site simulations. These latter skills were especially relevant in the transition to online learning during peak CoVID-19 pandemic days and more broadly raise the bar in demonstrating what is possible in applying advanced digital arts in education." Chris adds his thoughts on winning the award below.  

"Teaching is one of the joys and privileges of being a professor. I'm honored that my colleagues and students have found value in my pedagogy. Moreover, I'm fortunate to be able to teach food science and sustainability topics, which resonate with so many people. Teaching is so much more than transmitting facts; developing and delivering new course materials and instructional approaches has offered wonderful opportunities for creative expression, connecting with students, and inspiring students to broaden and translate their knowledge." - Chris Simmons

Again, a big congratulations to Chris; shout out when you see him!