SUNY Chancellor's Awards for Excellence in Adjunct Teaching
The State University of New York announced the inauguration of the Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Adjunct Teaching in 2013. The Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Adjunct Teaching recognizes consistently superior teaching by adjunct faculty at the graduate, undergraduate, or professional level. Recipients of this award have demonstrated outstanding support for intellectual growth of individual students and the use of relevant contemporary data from their disciplines in their teaching. This recognition is a system-wide acknowledgment of the contributions and dedication to high quality education by adjunct teaching faculty.
2024-25 Honorees
Randy Fernando
Department of Architecture
Randy Fernando, M.Arch., is an adjunct instructor in the School of Architecture and Planning, who teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses in architectural design, structural systems, digital media, and exploratory technical seminars. Since 2019, he has instructed over 500 students and spanning from Spring 2022 through Fall 2024, has taught across 17 course sections. For the past three years, he has co-led a summer study abroad program in Costa Rica, guiding students through community-based projects focused on sustainable design and ecological investigations. His interdisciplinary expertise includes software for architectural visualization and design; digital fabrication and manufacturing; and 3D scanning/analysis of objects, buildings, and project sites. His specialized knowledge informs his pedagogy and fosters a dynamic learning environment that encourages students to expand their creative potential.
A-Z
Mohammad Khawar Zia
Computational and Data-Enabled Science and Engineering
Mohammad Zia, PhD, is an adjunct lecturer for the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and the Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Data Science (IAD). Within the Engineering Science (Data Science) master’s degree program, he is consistently the highest-rated instructor. Zia developed and is often the sole instructor of EAS 503, a popular elective on programming and database fundamentals that attracts up to 400 students each year, including students in other degree programs. He has also been instrumental to IAD’s academic initiatives by creating summer electives and remedial content, and by contributing to IAD’s annual symposium, bootcamps, seminar series and extracurricular activities. To ensure that all his students enjoy academic success, he goes above and beyond to help those struggling to master concepts.