UCO College of Business Administration Professor Receives 2007 Oklahoma Professor of the Year Award

December 2007

College of Business Administration economics professor Dr. Mickey Hepner recently received the ‘2007 Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching Oklahoma Professor of the Year’ award for outstanding work with undergraduate students.

The award honors undergraduate professors who not only excel in teaching but also positively influence the lives and careers of their students.  Hepner, the only professor honored among the 2007 state winners in the economics discipline, contributes his success to those around him. 

“This award says a lot about all the people that have shaped me throughout the years,” said Hepner.  “Teaching economics is my dream job and I’m excited to get up every day and come to work.”

 Hepner’s passion for learning lead him to a career in higher education after obtaining his doctorate from the University of Oklahoma in 2001.  He has been a professor at UCO for the last seven years and believes strongly in what he feels is his role as an educator. 

 “I feel we do students a disservice in the classroom if we lead them to believe the only purpose for taking a course is to prepare them for a job.  Our role as educators should be to provide students with a set of skills that not only prepare them for their future careers but prepare them for life and help them become better citizens.”

 In addition to his teaching responsibilities, Hepner currently serves as the director of the UCO Public Policy Institute and serves on the board for the Oklahoma Academy.  He also writes a weekly column on public policy for the Edmond Sun and has authored reports for various state organizations.

 The U.S. Professors of the Year Program, sponsored by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and administered by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, was established in 1981.  A state professor of the year is recognized in 40 states and the District of Columbia and is the only national program to recognize undergraduate instructors for excellence in both teaching and mentoring.