Six of the University of Kentucky’s passionate and accomplished educators were surprised earlier this spring by student nominators and the UK Alumni Association as 2021 Great Teacher Award recipients.

Clark Kebodeaux is one of this year’s Great Teacher Award recipients. The UK College of Pharmacy clinical associate professor of pharmacy practice and science finds inspiration in his students.

“From the time our students get here to the time they leave, we have a group of focused, intentional, positive students who really inspire us with their desire to make a difference for the patients, for the profession, for Kentucky,” Kebodeaux said.

In addition to his role at the UK College of Pharmacy, Kebodeaux practices in an interprofessional ambulatory clinic at the Bluegrass Community Health Center with a focus on diabetes, substance use disorders and underserved populations. He is also an adjunct senior lecturer at Monash University, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, and an adjunct faculty member at the School of Nursing at St. Louis University and coordinator of the advanced pharmacology course for advanced practice nurse practitioners.

Kebodeaux said he is honored to receive the Great Teacher Award and looks forward to watching students succeed during and after their time at UK.

“We know the impact that Kentucky has made on the profession of pharmacy, and we know that the students we are training today are going to go out and be innovators in a similar way,” Kebodeaux said. “It continually inspires us to see our alumni and our current students going out and seeking these opportunities. To know we may have played a small part in that and their training and education – it’s powerful, inspiring and continues to push us forward.”

Learn more about why this UK Alumni Association 2021 “Great Teacher” loves connecting with students to help them achieve what’s wildly possible both in their future careers and in life in the video above.

Kebodeaux is just one of the 2021 UK Alumni Association Great Teacher award winners. This summer, UKNow will highlight each of these Great Teachers. Watch their stories here.

Initiated in 1961, UK’s Great Teacher Award is the longest-running UK award recognizing teaching. In order to receive the award, educators must first be nominated by a student. The UK Alumni Association Great Teacher Award Committee, in cooperation with the student organization Omicron Delta Kappa, then makes the final selection. Recipients receive an engraved plaque and stipend.