Faculty Profile: Vaughn Schmutz
Students often describe Vaughn Schmutz as approachable and caring. Schmutz, who is a finalist in the 2021 Bank of America Award for Teaching Excellence competition, has honed these traits over years of teaching in an effort to create a collaborative classroom environment that empowers creative, critical sociological thinking among his students.
Schmutz said, “My attentiveness and the collaborative environment I try to foster are, in part, why many students continue to contact me after the course to seek advice, letters of recommendation, or even ask for additional material on a topic they find interesting. … In this way, I am able to achieve the dual goals of challenging students while giving them the sense that they can succeed (and that I hope they do).”
Schmutz aims to inspire an interest and appreciation for research and the methods used to produce sociological knowledge. He extends learning beyond the classroom by leading a 10-day study abroad comparative culture course to the Netherlands biennially.
“He’s patient; he’s kind … and he includes the classroom in every aspect of his teaching so that we understand the concept. If you do not understand something, he will find a way to restate it in a way to where you know what he means. His office hours are always available. He’s very prompt with his emails, and he’s even mentored and helped me outside of his class,” said former student Lorenda Okpala.
Schmutz establishes strong mentoring relationships with students as director of the Global Village Learning Community and as the interim coordinator of the Sociology Bridge Learning Community. He has served as a mentor for Charlotte Research Scholars and Charlotte Community Scholars for several years, and he has chaired both honors theses and master’s theses. He is a faculty fellow for recruitment and diversity initiatives with the Office of Undergraduate Research and is a frequent advisor at the Undergraduate Research Conference. Further, he seeks to involve graduate students in his own research and helps them prepare to present at professional conferences.
Schmutz served on the department’s large course redesign committee and on the e-Portfolio committee. He also served on the College of Liberal Arts and Science Faculty Implementation Committee for the Prospect for Success program and helped develop assessment goals for this campus-wide initiative.
Department Chair Scott Fitzgerald said: “Dr. Schmutz is a key pedagogical leader and champion in the Department of Sociology. He has played an important role in nearly every innovative teaching and curricular development at UNC Charlotte—learning communities, short-term study abroad, Charlotte Research Scholars, Charlotte Community Scholars, Undergraduate Research Conference, course redesigns, plus extensive graduate student mentoring. In short, Dr. Schmutz does it all and does so with unparalleled patience, compassion and dedication. He is committed to helping all students reach their potential and is the type of teacher and mentor we should all strive to be.”
Schmutz is one of three finalists for the Bank of America Award for Teaching Excellence, which is open to full-time, tenured faculty members with at least seven years of service to UNC Charlotte.