SAN ANGELO, TX – Angelo State University faculty members Dr. Dionne T. Bailey and Dr. Bruce E. Bechtol Jr. were presented with the Texas Tech University System's 2023 Chancellor's Council Distinguished Teaching and Research Awards for ASU during a May 2 ceremony on campus.
Recognizing academic excellence, the honors are the most prestigious awards granted to faculty throughout the TTU System. Bailey received the Distinguished Teaching Award for ASU, while Bechtol received the Distinguished Research Award for ASU. Each was presented with a $5,000 stipend and an engraved medallion.
"These awards recognize the best of the best, and I am extremely honored to recognize our world-class faculty across the Texas Tech University System," said TTU System Chancellor Tedd L. Mitchell, M.D. "Our award recipients have ascended to the top of their areas of study and are leading experts at providing students with an unrivaled educational experience. I congratulate each of our esteemed faculty receiving this year's teaching and research awards."
The awards are funded by gifts to the Chancellor's Council, a giving society that supports the chancellor's priorities across the TTU System. Since the honors were established in 2001, 233 faculty have received awards totaling nearly $1.4 million.
Bailey, a professor in the Department of Mathematics, came to Angelo State in 2001 after earning her doctorate at Emory University. She has been teaching the capstone course for students in the mathematics with secondary teacher certification program since 2014, and under her guidance, ASU students maintained a 100% passing rate on the state certification exam for more than 20 years. This distinction is certainly a byproduct of the additional time she devotes to advising and mentoring these students, as well as her efforts to stay abreast of published research and current trends that benefit the teacher preparation program. Texas continues to have a shortage of certified math teachers. In response, Bailey was instrumental in proposing and implementing an interdisciplinary degree in mathematics with secondary certification with an option for a concentration in a second teaching field. This degree is an alternative path to becoming a certified grades 7-12 math teacher.
Bechtol, a professor of political science in the Department of Security Studies and Criminal Justice, joined the ASU faculty in 2010. His most recent book, "North Korean Military Proliferation in the Middle East and Africa," highlights a little-known international security threat to the U.S. and its allies. As a result of his research, he has been called upon to brief at the National Security Council, high-level government agencies, including the Defense Threat Reduction Agency and the Defense Intelligence Agency, and think tanks in the U.S., South Korea, Israel and the United Kingdom. He is the current president of the International Council on Korean Studies and a fellow at the Institute for Korean-American Studies. He is the author or editor of seven books dealing with international security issues in Northeast Asia and particularly the Korean Peninsula. Bechtol's latest book project dealing with the North Korea - Iran strategic relationship is scheduled for release in the fall of 2023. He received his Ph.D. from the Union Institute.
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