Professor receives outstanding educator award

Dr. Linda Walters, a UCF biology professor of 14 years, has always been passionate about teaching students about the many living organisms around them, and her devotion to her student's learning has not gone unnoticed.

The Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation has recently named Walters as the William A. Niering Outstanding Educator of the Year.

The award recognizes an individual who has played a particularly important role in education at any level, from primary school to the graduate level, inside or out of the classroom, or in the education of the public through outreach activities.

"I am honored to have received this award," Walters said. "It is nice to be recognized, but with everything I have accomplished it has not just been me – it has also been my students and my colleagues."

Walters was selected for the award because of her excellence in education and enthusiasm to teach to biology to not only her students but to the community as well.

"Dr. Walters embodies the elements of excellence in education with great knowledge in what she teaches, and she involves students of all ages in hands-on work," said Holly Greening, executive director of Tampa Bay Estuary Program, and Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation co-chair. "She truly is someone who you'd like to be your teacher, and I think she is the perfect recipient of this award."

In addition to Walters' enthusiasm for teaching, her award can be attributed to her different approach in the classroom to ensure optimal learning for all of her students. Within her large freshmen introduction to biology classes and various marine classes, including a tropical marine biology study abroad class, Walters makes sure to engage her students in as much hands-on learning as possible.

"I love getting students into habitat research," Walters said. "It is important to me, because you can't appreciate what's going on unless you are there. You can show slides in class and have tests, but if you don't go out there yourself, you can't appreciate the good and bad. You need to be there to learn about that."

Walters mainly focuses on the research components and service learning components in each class while keeping in mind each student's individual needs.

"Every student has a different career dream, and I want each and every one of them to get out of my classes what they need to get to where they want to be," Walters said. "It is not just about test taking; the service learning is just as important. I am preparing them for the real world."

Even with a substantial teaching load, Walters finds time to actively research human impacts in the marine environment and both pure ecology questions and goal-based conservation issues for a wide range of marine and estuarine habitats. She focuses mainly on coral reefs, oyster reefs and invasive species in the Indian River Lagoon off the East Coast of Florida, with an emphasis on basic research, applied research and outreaching to maintain the lagoon's overall health.

"Nothing makes me happier than to see a healthy marine environment that is in shape. It is just my happy place and when you see areas like that, it just makes you want to bring them everywhere so they can all be good again," Walters said.

Walters uses these research opportunities to make new discoveries, but also as a means to engage the public in outreach activities, an additional teaching tool.

Walters' method of teaching has touched many students' lives and has made in an impact most of them will never forget.

Melinda Donnelly, a biology graduate student focusing on marine biology and specifically mangrove restoration in ecology, has been Walters' advisee since 2004 and still continues to learn from Walters.

"One of the main things [Walters] has taught me is that if you love your job then it makes it all worth it," Donnelly said. "She has worked really hard to do what she does, but she loves it and she has made it not feel so much like a job, but more of a passion, and that is what I hope for."

Donnelly has also worked alongside Walters in the Indian River Lagoon to help protect it from pollution, storm-water runoff, habitat loss and the invasion of exotic species. From learning in the classroom to learning in the lagoon, Donnelly is proud to see her most beloved professor be recognized for all of her hard work.

"I am very excited she won this award," Donnelly said. "I can't imagine anyone who deserves it more. She is so passionate about this field and her students, and she has a way of inspiring people to take an interest in her field, which is the best thing you can do as an educator."

Receiving the William A. Niering Outstanding Educator of the Year accolade has shown Walters that all of her hard work has paid off.

"This award is a substantial documentation that what myself, my students and my colleagues have done has made an impact and a difference," Walters said. "When it is freezing or scorching hot and mosquitoes are everywhere, something like this is just another incentive to keep on going."