The University of Kentucky Alumni Association started the Great Teacher Award program in 1961 to honor excellent teaching at the university. There have been more than 300 teachers honored since that first year. Nominations may only be submitted by current students.

To receive the award, a candidate must:

• Hold the rank of full-time lecturer or above and have been a member of the faculty for the past three years at UK.

• Have superior knowledge of the subject matter.

• Have original and innovative classroom presentations.

• Demonstrate concern for students, both inside and outside the classroom setting.

• Not have been a recipient of the award for the past 10 years.

A committee of the UK Alumni Association Board of Directors and a representative from the student organization Omicron Delta Kappa select the recipients based on objective rating and ranking of the eligible nominations submitted.

This episode of “Behind the Blue” spotlights one of the six Great Teacher Award winners for 2024: Kayla Johnson, an assistant professor in the UK College of Education.

Johnson doesn’t hesitate to tell her students that she was a first-generation college graduate, is from Appalachia, was low-income and faced housing insecurity as a child. In fact, she believes that sharing that information can help them.

Johnson also serves as director of Graduate Global Learning Initiatives, where she aims to provide graduate students with international experiences. In 2016, she co-founded a nongovernmental organization that facilitates access to culturally grounded and community-driven educational opportunities for Indigenous children and adults in the Peruvian Andes.

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