The Gerald and Emily Leischuck Endowed Presidential Awards for Excellence in Teaching
Honors two full-time, tenured faculty members who have demonstrated effective and innovative teaching methods and a continuing commitment to student success through advising and mentoring inside and outside the classroom.
Robert Boyd
Robert S. Boyd, Professor
Department of Biological Sciences, College of Sciences and Mathematics
PhD; Botany; 1986 – University of California, Davis
MS, Biology; 1979 – California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
BS, Biology; 1977 – California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
“This award is meaningful at several levels, but a major meaning is that it shows that I have had an important impact on my students’ lives. A major goal of my career has been to serve and mentor students to help them achieve their goals and dreams as they progress through the University.”
Robert S. Boyd is a professor in the Department of Biological Sciences. A California native, he received his doctorate in botany from the University of California, Davis, in 1986, and in the fall of 1988, he became assistant professor in the Department of Botany and Microbiology at Auburn. Boyd became a professor in 2000, when the Department of Biological Sciences was created, and became the department’s undergraduate program officer in 2013. Boyd has taught courses ranging from freshman introductory biology to graduate-level classes. His current teaching focuses on courses in conservation biology and plant ecology. Boyd’s research interests include the management of rare and endangered plants, as well as the ecology and evolution of metal hyperaccumulator plants. He has published more than 100 journal articles and book chapters, has been a guest editor for special issues of three scientific journals, and has served on the editorial boards of three additional scientific journals. Boyd has six daughters: Jennifer Wynn, Kristina Nash, Michelle Boyd, Megan Erskine, Kendra Erskine, and Sierra Erskine. He would also like to recognize his sisters, Linda Boyd and Diane McCormick, and his brother, Douglas Boyd.
Dan LaRocque
Dan LaRocque, Professor
Department of Theatre, College of Liberal Arts
MFA, Drama; Professional Actor Training Program;
1981 – University of Washington
BFA, Theatre; 1978 – Minnesota State University Moorhead
“I have been fortunate to work with and learn from many gifted colleagues over the years, but what I like best about Auburn is our students. Their talent, drive, and enthusiasm for an art form I dearly love, has been a constant source of inspiration.”
Dan LaRocque joined Auburn University Theatre in 1990 as an acting, voice, and movement teacher and has directed or performed in more than 50 Auburn University Theatre productions. Beyond Auburn, his professional acting credits include major theaters in the United States and England. LaRocque served as associate dean for academic affairs in the College of Liberal Arts from 2011-13 and as chair and artistic director of Auburn University Theatre from 2005-11. LaRocque was inducted into the Academy of Teaching and Outstanding Teachers in Auburn’s College of Liberal Arts in 2003. In 2007, he received the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival Gold Medallion for Excellence in College and University Theater. He was inducted into the Alabama Theatre Hall of Fame for Pioneers in Alabama Theatre in 2015. He
is married to his colleague, Daydrie Hague, and together they have two sons, James and Conor, and one daughter-in-law, Mary Claire Walther.