UA’s CHES Honors Witte with Rowland Teaching Award

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Enthusiasm and knowledge are admirable qualities to have as a college professor, and The University of Alabama’s Dr. Tricia Witte has been credited with exhibiting both.

Witte was honored by UA’s College of Human Environmental Sciences with the 2015 Joseph S. Rowland Teaching Excellence Award during recent homecoming activities on campus.

The award is given annually to recognize CHES teaching excellence. Award recipients are those faculty members who exhibit mastery of subject matter and create a stimulating and challenging learning environment while demonstrating empathy and respect for students.

Witte’s nomination letter highlighted her “boundless energy” in the classroom, her “genuine and contagious” enthusiasm, her “warm, respectful and refreshingly optimistic” personality and a “deep and accessible” knowledge that she explains in such a way that is “immediately translatable to every student.”

“Witte is among the brightest, most magnetic professors at UA. Her enthusiasm and knowledge come together to create a challenging, vibrant and unforgettable learning experience that remains with students long after the class ends,” the letter states.

Witte is an associate professor in the department of human development and family studies, as well as a licensed clinical psychologist. She has been at UA since 2012.

Her research interests focus on addictive behaviors, as well as different forms of abuse and other related topics. She has authored and co-authored numerous books and chapters and articles for such journals as Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology and Scientific Review of Mental Health Practice.

Additionally, she has been a guest lecturer at several universities and presented at conferences around the world on such topics as health problems in victims of dating violence, risk recognition in sexually abused women, internalizing problems among children who witness domestic violence and more.

She is professionally affiliated with numerous organizations and associations, including the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies and American Psychological Association.

Witte earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology and her master’s degree in clinical psychology from Loyola College in Maryland and her doctorate degree in clinical psychology from the University of Arkansas.