Jessica Childs, a lecturer in the Department of Anthropology, Sociology and Criminology, is the recipient of the inaugural College of Arts and Sciences Teaching Award.

Led by Dr. Sharon Everhardt, an Awards and Recognitions committee was formed last fall to create an award to recognize outstanding faculty from the college, said Danielle Hudson, a lecturer in the Department of Chemistry and Physics and a member of the committee.

“Rather than just a game of favoritism, our goal was to create as objective and transparent a process as possible to identify and reward what we felt was the most deserving candidate,” she said.

The committee focused on specific criteria, such as promoting engaged learning and critical thinking, addressing discipline and course specific objectives through a variety of teaching approaches, and more.

The committee put out a call for nominations, and those who were nominated were contacted to submit a full packet to be reviewed by the committee. Once the packets were submitted, all files in each packet were combined and made anonymous. From there, the committee members scored each packet based on a rubric. The average scores for each packet were calculated, and the three packets with the highest scores were selected for further discussion.

“From those top three, the committee more thoroughly discussed each, considering multiple metrics before collectively recommending one candidate to the Dean’s office,” said Dr. Andrew Tatch, committee member and associate professor of social science. “It was clear to see how many wonderful teachers we have here in the CAS, and it served as a nice reminder that what we do matters as faculty. It was very powerful to see the packets, and specifically the student evaluations and student letters of support.”

Childs joined the Troy University faculty in 2008 and teaches criminal justice courses at the undergraduate level. She obtained both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in criminal justice from TROY as well as a Paralegal Certificate.

During her undergraduate years at TROY, she was on the National Dean’s list, selected as Who’s Who Among College Students, received the Victor Ortloff Scholarship and was a member of the Alpha Phi Sigma National Honor Society and Lambda Alpha Epsilon. As a graduate student, Childs served as a Graduate Administrative Assistant and President of the Alpha Phi Sigma National Honor Society, Tau Sigma Epsilon Chapter.

“I am extremely honored and humbled to be selected as the first recipient of the College of Arts and Sciences Teaching Award,” she said. “I strive every day to give my students the best experience possible, and I believe this award reflects that. I am very blessed and thankful for the opportunity to serve my students at Troy University and to hopefully make a difference in their lives.”

Prior to becoming a faculty member, she was the departmental secretary for two years. She also currently holds the positions of advisor for the Troy University chapters of Alpha Phi Sigma and Pi Gamma Mu, is an academic advisor, serves on various committees and as the department’s internship coordinator.

Childs has made various presentations at academic conferences, to include the Southern Criminal Justice Association, and has been a guest speaker at several events where she was invited to speak about domestic violence. She has attended a National Victims’ Assistance conference in Washington, D.C., and a National Advisors meeting for Alpha Phi Sigma in New Orleans. 

Childs was nominated for the Ingalls Award for Classroom Teaching Excellence in 2018 and 2023. She was also appointed to the Board of Directors for the state-level victims advocacy organization, Victims of Crime and Leniency (VOCAL), in 2017. Her main research interest includes the field of victimology.  

Also nominated for the CAS Teaching Award were Dr. Joungbin Lim, Department of History and Philosophy, and Dr. Adam Rutkowski, Department of Political Science.