Shelby Morge Receives BOT Teaching Excellence Award

Shelby Morge has received the 2025 Board of Trustees Teaching Excellence Award, the most prestigious award conferred at UNCW. She was also one of two recipients of the Distinguished Teaching Professorship Award, presented to faculty who have made a profound contribution to higher education through their dedication and service to teaching and student developent. Dr. Morge is a professor of mathematics education at UNCW’s Watson College of Education.

Provost James J. Winebrake presented the awards at UNCW’s Faculty Awards Celebration on April 29.

 “Since joining the faculty in 2006, Dr. Morge has shown exceptional dedication to teaching, research, curriculum innovation, and student mentorship,” Dr. Winebrake said. “The review committee praised her leadership in mathematics education, applied learning, and faculty development, highlighting the significant impact of her work on students, pre-service teachers, and the broader educational community. I am pleased to recognize Dr. Morge. Congratulations!”

A past recipient of a Chancellor’s Teaching Excellence Award, Dr. Morge coordinates the middle grades education and elementary mathematics add-on license programs at the Watson College. She has led numerous teacher training initiatives and professional development workshops on effective mathematics instruction. Her research on Math Education is well-published, and she has secured over $1.5M in grants to support STEM education.

In addition to teaching courses for middle grades and secondary preservice teachers and elementary education graduate students at Watson, Dr. Morge has taught courses for the NC-PIMS program, developed and taught courses for the NC Elementary Mathematics Add-On License and been involved in several other state-wide grants and initiatives such as NC-NAEP. She has served on the North Carolina Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCCTM) Board as the Eastern Region College Vice President and State College Vice President.

Dr. Morge holds a Bachelor of Arts in mathematics education with a minor in computer science from Indiana State University and a master’s and Ph.D. in mathematics education with a minor in mathematics, both from Indiana University. She taught middle school and high school mathematics and computer science and served as an assistant instructor at Indiana University before joining the faculty at UNCW.

Dr. Morge was featured in a UNCW home page story on April 30: UNCW Celebrates Faculty Awards Ceremony.