Undergraduate teachers are a vital component of the student experience at any university. They help students build the foundational basis of their degree pursuit and provide valuable mentorship throughout their time on campus.
Mike Evans (ISE/BS, ’85) and his wife, Wendy, are recognizing this essential role by endowing an undergraduate teaching award in the Min H. Kao Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in honor of Professors Jim Plank and Jens Gregor.
The Plank-Gregor Undergraduate Teaching Award will be presented annually at the EECS Awards Banquet, beginning in the spring of 2027.
“We just want to acknowledge all Jim and Jens have done for Tickle College of Engineering students and all they’ve done for the reputation of my alma mater by providing such a great education to the students to have them ready for the workforce,” Evans said. “Undergraduate teaching is a really important thing to my wife and me, and these two long-time faculty members are very deserving.”
Evans surprised Plank and Gregor with the announcement during a lunch last month alongside TCE Dean Matthew Mench, the Wayne T. Davis Dean’s Chair of the college, and EECS Department Head Garrett Rose.
“I’m so honored that Mike and Wendy created and endowed this award. For nearly 20 years, I have taught undergraduate classes exclusively, because to me, that’s where you get to see the light bulbs go off in the students’ heads. It’s where the large and creative world of computer science is opened to them, and that’s what I enjoy teaching the most,” Plank said. “The fact that this award focuses on undergraduate teaching shows that Mike and Wendy share this passion, and that’s one of the things that makes this award so special to me.”
Evans has collaborated with Plank and Gregor for several years. He is on the EECS Industrial Advisory Board of which Gregor is the department lead. Through the relationship with Plank and Gregor, Evans has hired nearly 15 EECS graduates at consulting firms he has been and is a part of.
“Every one of them has done very well. Everybody tells me, ‘These Tennessee kids are really good,’ so there’s a lot of goodwill that’s been built there,” Evans said. “I also know through the students we’ve hired that these are two professors they’ve all had. I know they’ve touched a lot of students in helping them develop their capabilities.”
Alongside honoring the current undergraduate teachers, the award is meant to inspire the next generation of educators to enter the field.
“Undergraduate teaching is often overlooked,” Gregor said. “The award created by the generous donation made by Mike and Wendy Evans will help shine light on this important aspect of what faculty do. I’m honored to have my name on it.”
Contact
Rhiannon Potkey ([email protected])