Houston Christian University (HCU) has named Dr. Paul W. Lewis, Jr. as the 2023-2024 Opal Goolsby Outstanding Professor of the Year. Dr. Lewis is an Associate Professor of Mathematics in the College of Science and Engineering .
The prestigious award, named in honor of Opal Goolsby, a legendary faculty member who taught English and French at Houston Baptist College, recognizes the very best teaching on the HCU campus. Goolsby was a member of the College’s original faculty in 1963.
“The Opal Goolsby Professor of the Year Award is a traditional recognition of our very best teaching on the HCU campus. The award is named for our legendary faculty member, Opal Goolsby, who was a member of the original faculty in 1963 teaching English and French. She was a generous, selfless teacher who loved life and demanded the best of her students while endlessly offering them her encouragement,” said Dr. Stanley Napper, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs.
A selection committee composed of representatives from the Student Government Association, the faculty Professional Development Committee, and the Provost’s Office reviewed each nominee’s record of achievement and carefully selected the faculty member who best embodied the principles of exceptional teaching.
Dr. Lewis teaches a broad range of courses for both science and non-science majors. He holds a PhD in Mathematics from the University of Tennessee, where he also taught for seven years.Dr. Lewis’s doctoral research was in the field of complex hyperbolic geometry. His other mathematical interests include algebraic topology, differential geometry, and knot theory.
Finalists for this year’s award, included Dr. Laura A. Bobart, Assistant Professor of Kinesiology in the Linda Dunham School of Nursing, Dr. Peace Amadi, Assistant Professor of Psychology in the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences, Dr. Felisi Sorgwe, Associate Professor of Theology in the School of Christian Thought, Dr. Pauline Akatsa-Hinga, Assistant Professor of International Business in the Archie Dunham College of Business and Dr. Russell Hemati, Associate Professor of Philosophy in the College of Arts and Humanities.