Elizabeth City, N.C. — Teaching can be a thankless job, but on Jan. 29, the University of North Carolina Board of Governors made sure one professor’s work did not go unnoticed, selecting Andre P. Stevenson—professor of social work and director of the office of international programs —as the university’s recipient of the 2026 Board of Governors Award for Excellence in Teaching. This honor includes a $12,500 stipend and will be formally presented at spring commencement.
Established in 1993, the award was created “to underscore the importance of teaching and to encourage, identify, recognize, reward and support good teaching within the University,” according to the Board’s founding resolution.
Each year, one faculty member from every UNC System institution is chosen for demonstrating exceptional commitment to student learning.
For Stevenson, the recognition affirms decades of investing in students’ intellectual and personal growth.
“Teaching is not simply about delivering knowledge,” Stevenson said. “It is about opening doors, expanding perspectives, and helping students recognize the power of their own potential. I am deeply honored to serve our students at ECSU and to play a role in preparing them to lead, serve, and make meaningful contributions in their communities and throughout the world.”
In a letter announcing the honor, UNC System President Peter Hans discussed the central role teaching plays in shaping the state’s future leaders.
“Teaching—instilling curiosity, feeding a thirst for knowledge, and creating lifelong learners—is the foundation of the University of North Carolina System,” Hans wrote in congratulating Stevenson.
While the award recognizes Stevenson’s impact on students, he makes it clear that the benefits flow in both directions.
"My greatest professional joy is showing up for class and interacting with students each day."
As professor of social work, Stevenson has primarily taught social welfare policy and research methods courses since coming to ECSU in 2018 and has developed new social work courses in the areas of social work and study abroad.
Stevenson's career spans nearly 30 years of full-time faculty and/or administrative positions at UNC Charlotte, Johnson C. Smith University, and Bowie State University. His teaching philosophy is grounded in empowerment, social responsibility and applied learning. He works to prepare students to understand complex social issues and to respond to them with competence, compassion and a commitment to equity and justice.
In addition to teaching, since 2018, Stevenson has had numerous manuscripts published in various peer-reviewed journals, as well as contributed book chapters to edited volumes, He also served as co-editor for two books. A few of his publications included his students as co-authors.
He also has been awarded several international fellowships, including the Fulbright, Fulbright-Hays, and Council of American Overseas Research Centers (CAORC) awards since 2021. Each of them has informed, strengthened, and provided insight for both his classroom instruction and international education approaches.
Stevenson received his bachelor's degree in counselor education from South Carolina State University. He went on to receive his Master of Social Work, Master of Public Health, and Ph.D. in Social Work Research from the University of Pittsburgh. A lifelong learner, he obtained a graduate certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) from the Department of English at East Carolina University in 2024.
At a university committed to academic excellence and student success, Stevenson’s recognition sends a message—while teaching may sometimes be thankless, its impact is undeniable.