Nguyen wins Freeman Award for Faculty Teaching

Assistant Professor Vuvi Nguyen, MS, PhD, has been named the 2024 recipient of the John H. Freeman Award for Faculty Teaching at UTHealth Houston School of Dentistry.

Chosen by first- and second-year dental students, the Freeman Award recognizes excellence in preclinical teaching.

Nguyen was honored during the School of Dentistry’s annual DDS Senior Awards, held in late April, to have her very own students congratulate her in person.

“I was shocked and surprised that the students thought enough of me for this award,” she said. “We have so many talented teachers at UTHealth Houston School of Dentistry, so I am very honored that the students thought enough of me for this award. All I can say is that I have the best job in the world and I am truly thankful for my students.”

This year’s award marks Nguyen’s third Freeman Award since joining the School of Dentistry’s Department of Diagnostic and Biomedical Sciences faculty in 2017. Despite her previous wins, conditions forced her to adjust her teaching methods since her last accolade in 2020.

“The first two awards were in 2018 and 2020, which was the brink of the COVID-19 pandemic,” she said. “Four years later, I felt like I had to change a little bit of how I present my content because things became virtual. It was a challenge to get students engaged in the past few years when we resumed in-person classes.”

Nguyen says that at first there was an adjustment that came with teaching virtually, and then a second adjustment once students returned for in-person instruction.

“Now that they’re in-person, I’ve been working on getting them excited about learning,” she said. “Since then, my teaching has not changed dramatically, but I integrate some spin into it. For example, I started playing games like Kahoot and Jeopardy, and that’s something I’ve integrated differently when comparing the previous two years that I won the award.”

Having more time spent as a student than as a teacher, Nguyen says that her teaching philosophy is seamlessly interwoven into her lectures.

“Connecting to my students is very important to me. Whenever I put a lecture together, my main goal is to put myself in their shoes,” she said. “I set up my slides and my lecture in a way that makes the material not only manageable but meaningful.”

Nguyen joined the School of Dentistry after receiving her doctoral degree in biomedical sciences from the University of North Texas Health Science Center in Fort Worth. She lists her fellow UTHealth Houston School of Dentistry colleagues among her mentors, including Anita Joy-Thomas, BDS, PhD; Robert D. Spears, PhD, MS; Raymond L. Warner, MA, PhD; and Lisa D. Cain, PhD.

“Here at the School of Dentistry, I’ve been lucky that I work with my chair and the associate dean who are anatomists themselves,” she said. “I feel so lucky to not only teach alongside them but to also learn with them. If I didn’t have my team by my side, I wouldn’t have the support it takes to push through the tough days.”

The Freeman Award comes with a cash prize. Award winners include:

• Vuvi Nguyen, MS, PhD, 2024, 2020, 2018
• Juliana A. Barros, DDS, MS, 2023
• Harold Kolodney Jr., DMD, 2022
• Michele White, DDS, 2021
• Ashley Clark, DDS, 2019
• Raymond Koeppen, DDS, MS, MBA, 2017, 2012
• Robert Spears, PhD, 2016
• Carla Rogers, PhD, 2015
• Shelly Patel, DDS, 2014
• Yasmine Haddad, DDS, PhD, 2013
• Ryan Quock, DDS, 2011
• Gary Frey, DDS, 2010, 2004
• William Tate, DDS, 2009, 2007, 2002, 1991, 1989
• Robert (Rod) Dosch, DDS, 2008, 2003, 2000, 1998
• James Ferguson, DDS, 2006
• Barry Rittman, MS, PhD, 2005
• Franz S. F. Mong, PhD, 2001, 1997, 1992, 1990, 1988, 1986, 1984
• Kenneth Porter, DDS, 1999
• John McMahon, PhD, 1996, 1987
• Mary (Cindy) Farach-Carson, PhD, 1995
• Gene Stevenson, DDS, MS, 1994
• Kathleen Gibson, PhD, 1993
• James Newland, DDS, MS, 1985
• Philip Pierpont, DDS, 1983
• Matthew Seals, DDS, 1982
• Richard Madden, DDS, MS, 1981
• Rodney Beetar, DDS, MS, 1980
• William Radentz, DDS, 1979
• Thomas Wild, DDS, 1978