The Frank W. Bearden Award

The "Frank W. Bearden Award for Teaching Excellence" in the Lifetime Physical Activity Program is given to the Lifetime Physical Activity Program specialist who has shown her/himself to be an outstanding teacher and advocate of physical activity. The award is voted on by students and is based on their belief that a particular specialist has gone beyond the ordinary demands of teaching to inspire, support and encourage students to become physically active.

2011 Award Winner: Megan Gossett

LPAP Specialist, Megan Gossett, was named the 2010-2011 Frank W. Bearden Award winner. Megan has been teaching ballet and Pilates classes for the Lifetime Physical Activity Program at Rice since 2008. As a former professional ballet dancer, Megan has been a mover all of her life. It was through her experiences in dance that she was first introduced to Pilates. She found this mind-body movement format so compelling that she became a fully certified Pilates instructor. Students who have taken her class describe her as being "incredibly flexible", "caring" and "good at what she does". It is because of characteristics such as these that Megan is so deserving of the Frank W. Bearden Award for Teaching Excellence.

 2010 Award Winner: Kristina Koutsoudas

In 2010, LPAP Specialist Kristina Koutsoudas was named the winner of the Frank W. Bearden Award for Teaching Excellence. Kristina has been an independent choreographer, performer, and teacher of classical and folkloric cultural dance for more than 15 years. She has an MA in cross cultural studies and has received many awards from both the Houston Arts Alliance and the Texas Commission on the Arts. She has been an outstanding instructor at Rice University since joining us in 2005. She is a passionate and enthusiastic teacher, and students who have taken her Introduction to Middle Eastern Dance class often describe her as accommodating and caring. A quote from one of her students highlights why she is the recipient of the Bearden Award: “Ms. K is a great dancer and has developed ways to teach her art form to a variety of learners. She keeps class light-hearted, but also gets us through a lot of material in a small period of time. If she taught more courses here, I would definitely take them.”

 2009 Award Winner: Liz Harwood

Liz Harwood, Assistant Director of the Rice Recreation Aquatics Program and LPAP Specialist, was named the 2008-2009 Frank W. Bearden Award winner. Liz has been an integral part of the Lifetime Physical Activity Program since coming to Rice in 2005, and has performed at a consistently high level for this program. Liz is a dedicated teacher and true advocate for physical activity. Students who have worked with her find her to be both positive and knowledgeable. A recent quote from one student who took Liz’s Triathlon training class this spring demonstrates why she is so deserving of the Frank W. Bearden Award for Teaching Excellence:
I never in my wildest dreams imagined that I would be capable of doing a triathlon, but thanks to Liz’s help with preparation and her faith in my abilities, I finished my first one in Galveston last weekend…Liz has really inspired and engendered in me a lifelong love of swimming and triathlons, and I am so thankful for her dedication.

Past winners:

• Roger White (2007)
• Heather Thompson (2006)
• Chris Shoults (2005)
• Tracy King Perry (2003)
• Roger White (2002)
• Linda Phenix (2001)