MOORHEAD, Minn. -- Brian Wisenden, a biosciences professor at Minnesota State University Moorhead, will be recognized today in Washington, D.C., as the 2013 Minnesota Professor of the Year.
The honor -- from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching -- is an undergraduate-focused award based on direct involvement with students.
Wisenden said he approaches undergraduate education with a teacher-scholar model.
"If I want to teach science, I have to do science," said Wisenden, who brings his own research in fish behavior to classes as examples. "Right down to freshman year, if we're going to talk about science, we have to model what it means to be a scientist and start it with the first day."
Wisenden is among 36 other instructors nationwide recognized this year.
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Wisenden joins nine other MSUM professors who have won the award -- more than any other college in the state.
