UNF Presents 2006 Distinguished Professor Award

Contact: Joanna Norris, Assistant Director
Department of Media Relations and Events
(904) 620-2102


The University of North Florida will present Dr. Theophilus Prousis the 2006 Distinguished Professor award on Friday, Sept. 29, at 10 a.m. during Fall Convocation in the Fine Arts Center Lazzara Performance Hall on the UNF campus.

Prousis is the 29th faculty member at UNF to hold the title of Distinguished Professor, which is an award given to a professor who demonstrates excellence in teaching, scholarship and service. This award is the highest honor to be conferred upon a UNF faculty member.

“The reason this honor is so highly regarded by the faculty is that they themselves determine which of their colleagues is worthy of such distinction,” said Mark Workman, UNF provost and vice president for Academic Affairs. “In the case of Theo Prousis, his passion for knowledge informs all that he does and is the basis for his exemplary achievement.”

The Southside resident has won several awards for exemplary teaching and scholarship, including the Outstanding Faculty Scholarship Award for the 2003-2004 academic year, a Teaching Incentive Program Award and was a runner up in 2005 for the Distinguished Professor award.

Prousis praises his own colleagues in the Department of History for providing him with excellent role models in scholarship and teaching. “I’m not sure I would have won the award if I were not part of a department that has been so successful in supporting and encouraging younger faculty. At this point in my career, I’d like to think I’m a role model for younger faculty,” he said.

He earned his doctorate in Russian history at the University of Minnesota and started his career at UNF’s history department in 1984, the first year the university became a four-year institution. Prousis has since taught courses ranging from freshman requirements to honors courses. He offers classes on the Holocaust and Middle East, but his main interest has always been exploring Russian history and modern European history.

According to Prousis, one of his greatest rewards as a teacher-scholar is to encourage students to pursue the subject matter beyond the confines of the classroom. “I always try to challenge students intellectually,” he said. “I want them to question their own assumptions in order to realize some of their views may not be accurate.”


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