Erin Goodykoontz, a Teaching Professor in Eberly College’s School of Mathematical and Data Sciences, has been named 2023 Professor of the Year by the Faculty Merit Foundation of West Virginia.
The Professor of the Year award is given annually to members of the faculties working in West Virginia’s public and private colleges to recognize their innovation and creativity in teaching.
“Dr. Goodykoontz has made a number of key innovative changes in her own classroom. She was also key in systematically changing how the Math 121 and Math 150 courses were taught so that all students could benefit,” said Associate Provost for Faculty Development and Culture Melissa Latimer, who nominated Goodykoontz for the award. “Her students leave these courses with more confidence, motivation, and skills, they are retained at the university, and they stay on track for graduation. The changes made across these courses have helped improve student success outcomes such as exam and final averages. In addition, Goodykoontz has published at least nine scholarship of teaching and learning products including the custom textbook she helped create for the Math 150 course.”
Goodykoontz is the first member of West Virginia University’s faculty to receive the award since 2011. She accepted it during a ceremony on April 10 in the Culture Center in Charleston.
Goodykoontz began her career at WVU as a Teaching Assistant Professor (Fall 2008 – Spring 2014) and Teaching Associate Professor (Spring 2014 – Spring 2020). In her first two roles, she taught Introduction to Math Concepts and Applied Calculus and was the coordinator for both courses, responsible for researching, altering, and updating the curriculum. As Teaching Professor, she serves as lead instructor for the Applied Calculus course and maintains her position as course coordinator for Introduction to Math Concepts.
She is an active participant in institutional committees at WVU. She is the faculty associate for the STEM Learning Community, which she was tasked to create and organize, and has been awarded the distinction to maintain this role for the last four academic years. She also serves on the university’s Calculus Advisory Committee; Communication Committee; Assessment Committee; and Work-Life Balance Committee. In 2020, she was elected a representative of WVU’s Faculty Senate.
Goodykoontz has been published in a variety of conference proceedings and education-based publications, including Proceedings of the Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education: World Conference on E-Learning; Proceedings of Hawaii University International Conference on STEM/STEAM and Education; Mathematics and Computer Education; Applications of Calculus; and Curriculum and Teaching Dialogue. She also is a frequent lecturer and presenter at annual conferences such as the Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education; International Conference on Technology in Collegiate Mathematics; National Council of Teachers in Mathematics; West Virginia Council of Teachers in Mathematics; and American Association for Teaching and Curriculum. Dr. Goodykoontz has been awarded numerous grants over the years to promote and encourage the pursuit of mathematics.
In addition to the 2023 Professor of the Year honor, Goodykoontz has been presented with the WVU Foundation’s Outstanding Teacher of the Year award (2023) and the WVU Eberly College Outstanding Teacher award (2022).
The Professor of the Year award is sponsored by: United Bank; Bowles Rice LLP; Greene, Ketchum, Bailey & Tweel LLP; Maier Foundation; and The Daywood Foundation, Inc. For additional information call (304) 347-2131.
