The APSA Distinguished Teaching Award is presented annually by the American Political Science Association (APSA) to honor outstanding contributions to the undergraduate and graduate teaching of political science at two- and four-year institutions.
Citation from the Award Committee:
This year’s winner of APSA’s Distinguished Teaching Award, Dr. Terry Gilmour, is an exceptionally transformative educator who has served for over thirty years at Midland College, a community college in Midland, Texas. The committee was particularly impressed that Dr. Gilmour’s many achievements and contributions were made in a resource-constrained environment, amid political challenges to the inclusive and rigorous teaching she demonstrates. Integrating research-based collaborative pedagogy into both her in-person and online courses, she consistently engages her predominantly Hispanic students in meaningful active learning projects designed to build their skills as future community leaders and engaged citizens. Her unique ability to make every student feel “seen, heard, and known” has earned her Midland’s Teacher of the Year Award three times, as well as the campus Teaching Excellence and Institutional Advancement Awards.
Beyond the classroom, Dr. Gilmour acts as a dedicated mentor and vital community member. This dedication to mentorship and community spirit has spanned every part of her record, including her five publications coauthored with students; her over-fifteen-year role as co-sponsor for the student government association; and her decade-plus mentoring campus colleagues and adjunct professors in research-based teaching. Furthermore, she spearheaded the transformation of Midland’s Phi Theta Kappa chapter into a top-ten, five-star national honor society chapter celebrated for service projects, such as hosting conferences to support Latina women in higher education.
Within the broader discipline, Dr. Gilmour is a tireless leader and advocate for undergraduate political science education, whose contributions have had a deep impact on the profession. An active researcher in the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL), she frequently publishes in the Journal of Political Science Education on topics ranging from participatory action research to community college student research. Her extensive leadership includes serving on the APSA Council, chairing the APSA Teaching and Learning Policy committee, and serving as president of APSA’s Political Science Education Section, which honored her with its prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award. Additionally, she served on the APSA Presidential Task Force that culminated in the 2024 report “Rethinking Political Science Education.” Through her three decades of passionate service, Dr. Gilmour continues to act as a guide and mentor to the discipline’s current leadership, embodying the very best of teaching, mentorship, and academic excellence.
Terry Gilmour has been teaching at Midland College since 1993. She received her Ph.D. in Political Science from Texas Tech University. She is also Director of the Honors Program and the Advisor and District One Coordinator for Phi Theta Kappa. While at Midland College, she has received the Teaching Excellence Award twice, once in 2014 and again in 2024. Currently, she serves as the Co-Chair of the Status Committee for Community Colleges, Secretary/Treasurer of the Southwestern Political Science Association, and Vice President of the Texas Community College Teachers Association. Her recent publications have focused on the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning particularly on critical thinking, teaching during difficult times, and forming partnerships between the community colleges and the four-year colleges and universities.
APSA thanks the committee members for their service: Nandini Deo (Chair) of Lehigh University, Jonathan Benjamin-Alvarado of Texas Christian University, and Matthew Pietryka of the University of Wisconsin
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