Dr. Robert Mindrup was recently awarded the 2020 TRNS 201 Instructor of the Year by the UT Office of First-Year Programs (FYP).

First-Year Programs is a collaborative department with outcomes that reach well beyond a student’s first year at UT. First-year seminars are taught by faculty and staff from all nine colleges and dozens of offices on campus. The first year at UT is crucial to student success and strong support from faculty/staff across campus gives students the best opportunity to excel.

The TRNS 201 course emphasizes the empowerment of strengths through the development of academic, personal, career exploration, and/or goals. Students enrolled in the course will identify and engage in experiences in and outside of the classroom to foster connection to the institution and development of personal identity as a UT student, which helps create a seamless transition to Rocky Top.

The office of First-Year Programs received over 150 combined entries for our Instructor and Peer Mentor of the Year awards. A committee of staff members outside of First-Year Programs thoroughly reviewed every entry.  One quote from Mindrup’s entries read “Dr. Mindrup is kind and truly seems to care about his students!  He would check on the mental health of his class and he wanted to make sure we were practicing self-care! He truly has gone out of his way to make sure that our experience has been a good one and if he could offer any help or guidance he was there!”