What separates Dr. Debra Edwards from other professors is her passion for what she does.

Edwards, professor in the Department of Technology with a concentration in Industrial Directing and Designing, was honored as the year’s Outstanding Faculty Member for the College of Fine and Applied Arts.

The award includes a $1,000 grant from the Appalachian State University Foundation and a $500 award for class materials.

Edwards, who is thrilled with the award, credits others with helping her to achieve it. 

“I had so many teachers in public school, right here on campus, even mentors. My parents really value education. They insisted on showing respect to teachers,” Edwards said.

She feels that winning the award has been a very humbling experience.  “To be selected out of so many great teachers is an honor,” Edwards said.

Edwards is versatile, teaching a variety of classes on campus.  “I teach mainly undergraduate courses that include Introduction to Industrial Design, Technical Drafting I, so I have a lot of freshman; and Advanced Design which is called Product Design.”

Students in Edwards’ class experience a different style of teaching, as she prefers to step back and let things happen in her class.  

“(It’s) kind of a hard thing for students to do sometimes, because of (the style) they’re accustomed to,” she said.

Edwards commented, “My product design class has no tests. That doesn’t mean that it’s easy, though. It’s radical. You don’t have to be in a straight line like desks all lined up.” 

Since Edwards deals with consumer products of today, she challenges her students to look into themselves for ideas that break from the norm.

“I want to know whether their idea is original. I want to know what kind of problem it can solve. I don’t want my students to have profit as their only motivation,” she said.

While Edwards won’t say how fantastic she is, her co-workers have a totally different perspective. 

Ryan Finch, a graduate student in the HPC program, feels honored to be working with such a great teacher.  “She’s really talented in many different arenas,” Finch said. “Her humility makes working with someone of that magnitude that much more inspiring,” he added.