Andrew Keitt, Ph.D., an associate professor of history in the University of Alabama at Birmingham College of Arts and Sciences has been named the 2010 Alabama Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

The award, co-sponsored by the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), recognizes teachers that excel both on and off campus.

Keitt engages students by having them play roles of historical figures from the time periods they're studying in class. The technique was influenced by the approach of other educators from around the country.

"I try not to lecture a lot; I lecture less and less," Keitt says. "I want to engage students and that is why pedagogies like Reacting to the Past and Team-Based Learning appeal to me."

Much in the same way he credits others for helping shape his teaching style, Keitt is quick to credit others for their role in nominating him for the Professor of the Year honor.

"I have a deep appreciation to those who nominated me and wrote letters on my behalf, that's how these things happen," Keitt says. "Former Dean Jean Ann Linney, Ph.D., and Associate Dean Catherine Daniélou, Ph.D., played especially important roles in all of this, and I am extremely grateful to them."

Keitt becomes the third UAB faculty member to be named Alabama Professor of the Year. The Carnegie Foundation and CASE have honored a single university professor from every U.S. state annually since 1982. A luncheon to recognize each state's winner was held today, Nov. 18, in Washington D.C., with Keitt and his family in attendance.