October 1 , 2007

TEACHING AWARD FOR WAYWAY HLAING

Dr. WayWay Hlaing was nominated by her colleagues in the Stempel School of Public Health (SSPH), recommended by the Faculty Senate Teaching Award Committee and recognized by the Provost for “Excellence in Graduate Teaching” award this year. She will be recognized at the Faculty Convocation on Friday, October 5th 2007 at FIU.

When Dr. Hlaing first joined a small department of 6 faculty members in 2000, she taught several public health courses. In the spirit of teamwork, she developed some public health courses that were indirectly associated with her field of Epidemiology. She has successfully developed and taught eight courses of which seven were graduate courses. Three courses were taught in two formats: fully online and onsite. Dr. Hlaing also served as the director of the Graduate Certificate in Epidemiology and co-director of the Graduate Certificate in Environmental Health. She was instrumental in the development of MPH online degree and the original PhD degree programs. In the new Stempel School of Public Health (SSPH), she continued to contribute to curriculum development of Epidemiology and Biostatistics for Master’s and Doctoral programs. She demonstrated a great deal of professional energy in her participation in program review and accreditation self-study workgroups. All formal teaching evaluation and informal feedback from students indicate that she continues to excel in classroom teaching and directing students on their research projects. She served as the chair or member of several Master’s Research Projects, thesis, and doctoral dissertation. In 2006, the Executive Board of the SSPH’s students and alumni selected Dr. Hlaing as the first faculty advisor to the Stempel Public Health Association.

Some of the quotes from her colleagues and students/alumni are:

• “Dr. Hlaing has the reputation as a tough yet flexible, and bright yet humble professor.”

• “Her instructional methods are creative and her assignments challenging.”

• “When I think back on my experiences at FIU, her classes and my interactions with her stand out as the most stimulating and helpful in acquiring the knowledge I need to become a successful public health professional.”

• “I believe Dr. Hlaing’s grass-root experience coupled with personal motivation and academic background has helped her be an outstanding professor.”

• “Dr. Hlaing’s broad educational background (Medicine, Health Education, and Epidemiology) and vast experience in behavioral epidemiology, health disparity, and strong method skills in research have proven to be valuable assets in her guidance of Master’s and doctoral students’ research projects.”

• “Dr. Hlaing is not an easy grader. She sets high, but not unrealistic goals, for her students and stresses creative and critical thinking skills applied to practical public health issues.”

• “Dr. Hlaing is a skilled mentor and serves as an excellent role model for public health students and professionals.”