Five MU professors awarded Kemper Fellowship

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

On Tuesday, five University of Missouri teachers were awarded with the Kemper Fellowship for Teaching Excellence.

The peer-nominated award includes a $15,000 stipend for each instructor.

Clinical professor Lea Ann Lowery, an MU alumnus, is one of the recipients who was surprised with the award during a meeting Tuesday. Lowery developed the first clinic for the MU Department of Occupational Therapy (Tiger OT) and helped launch the Swimming and Water Instruction Modification, which incorporates learning strategies for children with autism.

Honored and surprised by the award, Lowery wanted to give some recognition to her colleagues as well.

"I do love what I do a lot. I love the people I work with a lot, the students are fantastic. You know we're all here because we worked hard," she said. "I appreciate being honored but I feel like a lot of my colleges deserve a big shout out and recognition too for all the hard things that the do."

Alongside Lowery, four others were awarded: Law professor David Mitchell, College of Education and Human Development professor Beth Whitaker, and College of Arts and Sciences professors Lee Manion and Christoper Josey.