Fourth year Ph.D. candidate Lydia Njoroge was honored with the esteemed Marketing Doctoral Student Association (MDSA) Teaching Excellence Award. Founded in 1997, MDSA is a subset of the Ph.D. project, whose mission is to increase diversity in business school faculty who encourage, mentor, support and enhance students.

This prestigious award is given to only one individual per year and represents a culmination of high quality nominations, teaching philosophies and student evaluations.

“I was very surprised because there are a lot of strong scholars in the MDSA with teaching experience. They have great personalities and are very supportive of their colleagues and students. I am grateful to be recognized for my efforts in the classroom and I am proud to bring this award home to UNT.”

Njoroge partially credits receiving the honor to the wide range of teaching experiences she received while at UNT. During her tenure as a student, she worked with classes ranging in size from fifteen to five-hundred students, enabling her to hone her teaching philosophies and structures. Her favorite amongst all the courses she taught was “Research Methods & Analytics.”

“I love this topic and sharing it with students in a way that makes sense. Being allowed to restructure the course in a way that fits with my style helped me reflect on my teaching philosophy and course objectives,” said Njoroge.

Njoroge is taking a break from teaching this year to finalize her dissertation, but anticipates continuing her teaching excellence upon graduation in May.

“I would love to be placed at a school like UNT that balances rigorous research with quality teaching. Shaping the next generation of businessmen and women is just as rewarding as advancing the knowledge of our discipline.”