Alumni Association Distinguished Teaching Awards

Cathy Dice, instructor of English (in photo) and Margaret Vandiver, professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice (not pictured) were presented The University of Memphis Alumni Association's Distinguished Teaching Award. Each accepted a $2,000 prize during spring 2011 Convocation. (Photo by Rhonda Cosentino)

The award recognizes outstanding teaching at the undergraduate and graduate and levels.

Dice received her BA in English and history from the University of Memphis in 1989 and earned a master's in English in 1991. She has taught at the University for more than 15 years. Dice enjoys teaching a wide variety of undergraduate courses, including Freshman Composition, Literary Heritage, African-American Literature and Children's Literature. In addition to her teaching responsibilities, she serves as the director of the WordSmith Writing Olympics, the department's annual writing contest for local middle and high school students, and as the coordinator of the English Internship Program.

Vandiver has been with the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice since 1992, where she teaches in both the undergraduate and graduate programs. Her primary research interests are capital punishment, homicide and collective violence. Vandiver has published numerous articles and two recent books, Lethal Punishment: Lynchings and Legal Executions in the South (sole author) and Tennessee's New Abolitionists (co-editor). Her current research is focused on historical homicides in Memphis.