Honoring Excellence

The Robert Foster Cherry Award for Great Teaching

Out of a profound appreciation for the educators who had shaped his life, Robert Foster Cherry established the Robert Foster Cherry Award for Great Teaching at Baylor in 1991. He made an estate bequest to endow the award program to recognize exceptional teachers and forge meaningful connections with Baylor University students. Today, more than three decades since its inception, the Cherry Award is given biennially to honor teachers who excel in their profession and ignite critical conversations within academia about the invaluable role of teachers.

The Cherry Award stands as a pinnacle in national teaching accolades, offering the largest monetary prize of $250,000 presented by any college or university to recognize teaching. Beyond the financial reward, the recipient also teaches in residence at Baylor for one semester. But the award doesn’t stop there — to amplify Baylor’s dedication to exceptional teaching, the recipient’s department at their home institution receives a generous $25,000 prize. 

Individuals nominated for the Cherry Award must demonstrate a proven record as an extraordinary teacher with a positive, inspiring and long-lasting effect on students, along with a record of distinguished scholarship. 

The most recent Cherry Award recipient, Jay Banner, Ph.D., is the F. M. Bullard Professor in the Jackson School of Geosciences at the University of Texas.

Banner, who will teach in residence at Baylor in Spring 2025, was honored for his outstanding research and teaching in the areas of sustainability, environmental science, geochemistry, science communication and environmental justice. His inspiring K-12 and community engagement initiatives convey the excitement of scientific discovery and connect researchers and community members to address resilience challenges in underserved communities.

When asked, “What makes a great teacher?” Banner replied, “When I think of great teachers I’ve known, they share their excitement of discovery about how the world works. If a teacher can take a complex concept, whether it’s in science, engineering or the humanities, and help students understand it and be excited about having learned it, that’s what it’s all about.”

Jennifer Cognard-Black, Ph.D., professor of English at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, was the 2020 recipient of the prestigious award. In her semester-long teaching residency at Baylor, she led a creative writing class on the topic “Books that Cook.” In addition to exploring the literatures of food, students took their learning beyond the classroom to food security initiatives at Baylor and in Waco. 

“I am deeply grateful that Robert Foster Cherry established this program to recognize excellence in teaching — and to bring professors from around the world to Baylor to collaborate with students on making meaning,” Cognard-Black said. “To me, the Cherry Award reminds us all that teaching matters; that each and every one of us is indebted to those educators and mentors who changed us utterly — who awakened us to ourselves.”

Hollylynne S. Lee, Ph.D., the 2022 Cherry award winner and professor of mathematics and statistics education at North Carolina State University, experienced a renewed commitment to preparing future teachers during her experience on Baylor’s campus in Spring 2023. 

“I think as a system, we have to get much better at making it clear that teachers are professionals, and that they are designers of learning opportunities for their students. And getting them excited to come into a career in education, and to be able to stay,” Lee said. 

Banner, Cognard-Black, Lee and other Cherry Award recipients demonstrate that great teachers not only develop the skills and inner lives of their students, but also bring students out of themselves to connect with the world around them with curiosity and compassion.

To learn more about the Cherry Award, visit cherryaward.web.baylor.edu.