Teaching Innovation Award

Beth Shirley

The recipient of the Teaching and Innovation Award is Beth Shirley, assistant professor of technical communication in the Department of English in the College of Letters and Science. This award recognizes a faculty member who uses novel teaching practices with a measurable impact on student success and the potential to be applied across disciplines. Sponsored by the Office of Academic Affairs, the award comes with a $2,000 honorarium.

Through her study in the field of technical communications, Shirley focuses on community engagement with science, seeking to pair traditional and scientific knowledge to improve communication between communities.

Shirley’s time in the classroom is spent on technical and science communication. In one of her classes, students create and publish an annual magazine called Bitterroot, which centers on Montana’s lands and people. She’s also an active member of the Montana Agritourism Fellowship Program, which seeks to increase the amount of visitor engagement with Montana’s food systems.