Dr. David Ray, University of Oklahoma
2011 Oklahoma Medal for Excellence in College/University Teaching
Dr. David Ray, associate professor of political science and dean of the Honors College at the University of Oklahoma in Norman, has been named winner of the 2011 Oklahoma Medal for Excellence in Teaching at a Research University.
Ray’s current teaching interests include Congressional oversight of U.S. intelligence agencies, U.S. foreign policy toward diverse Islamic societies, the politics of U.S. economic policy and socioeconomic change in less developed countries. He has also taught many introductory government courses for freshmen. He is the recipient of numerous OU teaching awards, including the OU Student Association Award for Outstanding Teacher and the “Most Inspiring Professor” award from the Student Athletes Association.
Former graduate student Shad Satterthwaite recalls Ray’s lectures being so engaging that students would invite friends and even parents to attend. Over his 37 years as a college teacher, Ray has developed several guiding principles, including getting to know his students individually, bringing enthusiasm to the subject matter, setting high standards for achievement, and asking lots of questions to stimulate classroom discussion.
“College teaching is not simply conveying a body of knowledge and it is certainly not preaching,” Ray said. “It is demonstrating by one’s own example the true joy of learning.”
Ray has also found that the simple act of giving the right book to a student is a very effective teaching method. He has given away thousands of books to students and several years ago began organizing informal reading groups free-of-charge for students. After becoming Honors College dean, Ray expanded the reading groups and funded the books primarily through support from private donors. There are now more than 30 small reading groups, on subjects ranging from science to history, and Ray still makes time to moderate more than half of them.