UTEP Professor Selected as Fellow of the UT System of Academy of Distinguished Teachers

Last Updated on April 12, 2021 at 11:00 AM

Originally published April 12, 2021

By Darlene Barajas

UTEP Communications

Denise Lujan, director of developmental math and the Entering Student Experience (ESE) Program at The University of Texas at El Paso, was selected as a Fellow of The University of Texas System Academy of Distinguished Teachers, the UT System’s highest honor for recognizing outstanding leadership in education.

Denise Lujan, director of developmental math and the Entering Student Experience (ESE) Program at The University of Texas at El Paso, was selected as a Fellow of The University of Texas System Academy of Distinguished Teachers, the UT System’s highest honor for recognizing outstanding leadership in education.

“We are incredibly proud of Denise Lujan’s contributions to UTEP,” said John Wiebe, Ph.D., Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs. “For years, she has driven innovation to promote student success in our developmental education programs, and she is now bringing that same spirit of innovation to our Entering Student Experience Program.”

The UT System Academy of Distinguished Teachers was established in 2012 to recognize outstanding educators throughout the UT System’s eight academic institutions. It is one of the nation’s only university system-level advisory and advocacy groups dedicated to improving teaching.

The academy recognizes educators who have demonstrated leadership in education and are committed to improving learning throughout the UT System. Fellows of the academy serve as the System-level advisory and advocacy group and are dedicated to fostering and promoting improved teaching and learning, classroom innovation, interdisciplinary perspectives, and educational discourse.

“I am thrilled to be included in such a prestigious group of faculty,” Lujan said. “I look forward to collaborating and sharing ideas on teaching and learning with others from the UT System – what an incredible opportunity. I am honored and humbled to become a member of the academy.”

Lujan has received other noteworthy awards, including the UT System Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award (2019), the UTEP Entering Student Program Outstanding Faculty Advocate Award (2019), and the Texas College Reading and Learning Association Developmental Educator of the Year Award (2016). In 2019, Lujan was elected president of the National Organization for Student Success (NOSS).

For more information about the UT System Academy of Distinguished Teachers, visit: https://www.utsystem.edu/sites/academy-of-distinguished-teachers.