The PRIDE Award recognizes a faculty member who has demonstrated excellence as a teacher, an extraordinary level of scholarship and service, and whose overall accomplishments are especially noteworthy. Sterrett was selected for the award by the Council of Deans after nominations were solicited from each of the University's colleges and schools.

"I am incredibly pleased and grateful for the votes of confidence," Sterrett said. "This particular award recognizes and validates one's professional work and contributions in higher education, and particularly what I am doing to encourage student learning and achievement at Southeast. This award is also a reminder that one's professional commitments and dedications indeed make a difference.

"I am happy to accept this award on behalf of all the hardworking and dedicated faculty at Southeast Missouri State University," he said, "and I dedicate the honor of this award to my family."

Dr. Gerald McDougall, dean of the Donald L. Harrison College of Business, says Sterrett's teaching effectiveness and performance has been exceptional.

"He has performed consistently well above average in the various courses he has taught, and he has demonstrated a genuine concern for student learning," McDougall said. "He includes experiential activities whenever possible. He has been innovative in his courses and has given particular attention to infusing technology and the Internet. Dr. Sterrett is very versatile in his teaching, is always well-prepared, and he generally has a great deal to impart to students."

This is the seventh annual PRIDE Award. Past recipients are Dr. Allen Gathman, professor of biology; Dr. Athula Kulatunga, former associate professor of energy and electronics; Dr. Frederick Yeo, associate professor of middle and secondary education; Dr. William Snell Jr., professor of psychology; Dr. Janet Weber, professor of nursing; and Dr. David Ritter, associate professor of chemistry.

Sterrett's online MK301 "Principles of Marketing" course has been identified as an exemplary online course by the Center for Scholarship in Teaching and Learning, and his course ratings by students have been consistently very strong.

In regard to innovative practices, Sterrett received a $10,000 restricted gift from an alumnus to enhance a summer workshop on entrepreneurship. This grant supported a special program last summer and will support another next summer that allows student to complete special site visits to especially successful entrepreneurs in St. Louis, Nashville, and Memphis, as well as successful entrepreneurs in this region.

Sterrett has experienced tremendous success in seeking competitive grants from the Kauffman Foundation to support student internships in for-profit and not-for-profit entrepreneurial settings. These grants, totaling $134,000, have supported students from across the disciplines on campus.

Sterrett continues to maintain an active, high quality program of research, including recent involvement with major competitive grant proposals that exceed $2.2 million. He has been published in numerous national journals and proceedings, completed a book review for Harcourt Brace Publishers and authored several feasibility and market research studies for regional interests. He also has organized and hosted an annual appreciation reception for regional businesses serving as internship placement sites for marketing and Kauffman Entrepreneur interns.

Sterrett serves as the director of the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies and Small Business Management and has hosted family business seminars on succession planning and estate planning. In this capacity, he has conducted numerous small business/entrepreneurship workshops and has conducted more than 80 regional business tours for students.

While serving as chair of the Department of Marketing, Sterrett has completed a national assessment study of the marketing curriculum, served as the department's internship coordinator, and developed and taught three Web courses. He also has supervised MBA Student Applied Research Projects, completed more than 35 business consultant cases through Southeast's Small Business Development Center and served as division chair, program chair, track chair, reviewer, discussant or presenter for seven professional organizations.

He has served as editor or proceedings editor for three journals or associations, is on the Advisory Council of the Midwest Business Administration Association, is co-advisor to the Marketing Club/Delta Epsilon Chi and advisor to the Students In Free Enterprise. He was honored with the Favorite Teacher Award at the Alumni Association Senior Dinner and serves on the University Enrollment Management Committee and the University Sabbatical Leave Committee.

Sterrett has received numerous awards and honors. He was appointed a Sam M. Walton Free Enterprise Fellow by the Students in Free Enterprise Organization, was the grand marshal at winter commencement in 1997 and received the faculty recognition award as "outstanding faculty" in fall 1997. He was promoted to full professor in 1999, has been inducted into Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society in Business and was awarded the 2000-2001 "Student Choice Award" for Excellence in Teaching in the Harrison College of Business.

"The Student Choice Award is the highest award given by the College to recognize outstanding achievement," McDougall said. "Awardees are identified by the members of the Dean's Student Advisory Council, which is comprised of the president of each business student organization and a student representative from each major offered by the College."