AVS Professor Receives Provost’s Award

Associate Professor Joanne Sohn was selected to receive the 2020-21 Provost’s Award for Excellence in Teaching.

A member of the Department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences faculty since 2014, Sohn is a licensed veterinarian and director of Cal Poly Pomona’s Animal Health Science program, which prepares students to work as veterinary technicians.

Recipients of the Provost’s Award for Excellence in Teaching are chosen by a selection committee based on several criteria, including:

• Demonstration of outstanding classroom performance as evidenced by analysis of student evaluations and peer observations of teaching
• Teaching methods, innovations, and evaluation of student performance that challenge students and contribute to student interest, enthusiasm, and achievement
• Active involvement with students in educational and scholarly activities such as competitions, conferences, symposia, site visits, posters, publications, etc. outside the class
• Assisting and facilitating student learning outside the classroom environment.

Sohn has developed unique hands-on, learning opportunities for her students, including the semiannual pet spa day/vaccine clinic and leading academic field trips to Thailand and South Africa. She has successfully applied for numerous grants, allowing her on-campus veterinary teaching lab to be equipped with some of the latest equipment and technology.

As a Provost’s Award recipient, Sohn will receive $5,000 and a plaque. She plans to use the money for her sabbatical, continuing education, to develop a workbook and conduct research.

Sohn also will have her name added to a permanent plaque in the University Library and a Division of Academic Affairs website. The awards are made possible by a grant from the Kellogg Legacy Project Endowment.

The Huntley College of Agriculture will recognize Sohn at its drive-in Commencement on May 20. She also will make a presentation with her fellow Provost’s Awards recipients at a symposium currently scheduled for Oct. 7.

Sohn was the college’s 2016 Teacher of the Year.