Dr. Nancy Boury was recently chosen as the recipient of the 2022 Carski Award for Undergraduate Education from the American Society of Microbiology! This award recognizes an educator for outstanding teaching of microbiology to undergraduate students and for encouraging them to subsequent achievement. The award is given in memory of Theodore Carski (1903-2003), who founded the Baltimore Biological Laboratory, Inc. in the 1930s, The lab was later acquired by the engineering firm of Becton Dickinson. Carski served as ASM Treasurer from 1970-1975. Carski and his wife established a foundation in 1964 and an endowment to support this ASM Award. The first award was made in 1968.
Nancy Boury is a former first-generation student from Wartburg College, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in biology and chemistry. She then earned a Master’s degree in medical microbiology and immunology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a PhD in molecular, cellular, and developmental biology (MCDB) from Iowa State University. She has taught at ISU since the fall of 1998 and served as the Microbiology program advisor from 1999-2015 before joining the department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology in 2016 as an assistant professor with an emphasis on teaching and the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) research.
Dr. Boury regularly teaches introductory courses in biology, genetics, and microbiology. She uses case studies to connect course content to current events and to communicate science in a wide variety of contexts. In the fall of 2019, she created and taught a new course: Preparing for the Next Pandemic: Living in a One Health World. Six short months later, in March 2020, the world was disrupted by the COVID-19 Pandemic. When students reported losing internships because of COVID-19 precautions in the summer of 2020, she created a digital internship focused on ASM’s scientific thinking competencies that is still being used to teach undergraduate students scientific literacy skills.
Nancy’s research program is focused on the continuous improvement cycle of student learning by refining learning objectives, assessments, and student activities. This includes using game-based learning, developing concept inventories to reliably measure student learning, and mentoring other instructors on active learning strategies.
Congratulations on receiving this prestigious award!