For Immediate Release – Lawton, OK, Feb. 13, 2007
National honors for Cameron Professor
The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support
of Education have named Cameron Associate Professor Vivian Thomlinson, Ph.D., the Oklahoma
Professor of the Year. Thomlinson was selected from among nearly 300 top professors in the United
States.
Thomlinson’s teaching career began in 1986 as an assistant professor of English at Cameron University.
She also taught at Prince George’s Community College, Laurel, MD; the U.S. Army Command and General
Staff College, Department of Leadership, Fort Leavenworth, KS; and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
School’s Community Center, Oberammergau, Germany before returning to Cameron in 1998.
“Cameron has a wealth of quality educators on campus,” said John McArthur, Ph.D., Vice President for
Academic Affairs. “Dr. Thomlinson has enriched the educational experience of her students and other
faculty members, and we are proud that she has been recognized at such a high level for her teaching
excellence.”
Margery Kinglsey, CU English and Foreign Languages Department chair described Thomlinson as an
extraordinary teacher both of students and of faculty.
“She is legendary on campus and was a natural choice when the opportunity to nominate a faculty member
for this award arose,” said Kinglsey. “The nomination was all the more meaningful because it required
-more-
Thomlinson, ADD ONE
letters from faculty, students, alumni, and community members, all of whom have been touched in one way
or another by Dr. Thomlinson’s teaching.”
Thomlinson agreed that the support she received from those who nominated her was more valuable than
the award itself.
“The most important thing I took away from the entire experience was the pride that came from knowing my
colleagues and students care so much for me,” Thomlinson said.
The Cameron faculty member is no stranger to recognition for her excellence in teaching. Some of her
other honors include Phi Kappa Phi Distinguished Faculty Award, Hackler Award for Teaching Excellence,
Student Government Association Professor of the Year, English Department Sigma Tau Delta Professor of
the Year and the Command and General Staff College Award for Outstanding Teacher.
CASE established the Professors of the Year program in 1981, and the Carnegie Foundation became the
co-sponsor a year later. TIAA-CREF, one of America's leading financial services organizations and higher
education's premier retirement system, became the primary sponsor for the awards ceremony in 2000.
Additional support for the program is received from a number of higher education associations, including
Phi Beta Kappa.
This year there are winners in 43 states, Guam, and the District of Columbia. A panel of judges from CASE
and Carnegie selected the state winners from top entries. The state winners were selected from faculty
members who had been nominated by colleges and universities throughout the country.
The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching was founded in 1905 by Andrew Carnegie “to
do all things necessary to encourage, uphold and dignify the profession of teaching.” The foundation is the
only advanced-study center for teachers in the world and the third-oldest foundation in the nation. Its
nonprofit research activities are conducted by a small group of distinguished scholars.
The Council for Advancement and Support of Education is the largest international association of education
-more-
Thomlinson, ADD TWO
institutions, serving more than 3,200 universities, colleges, schools, and related organizations in 54
countries. CASE is the leading resource for professional development, information, and standards in the
fields of educational fundraising, communications, marketing and alumni relations.
– ### –
PR#07-025
Editors and Broadcasters: For more information, contact Amber McNeil, Director of
Media Relations, in the Office of Community Relations at 580.581.2611.