For winning the 2024 Governor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, Missouri State University assistant professor Dr. Natasha DeVore got to join Gov. Mike Kehoe and award winners from other institutions at a   on April 2.

The Governor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching is given to an outstanding faculty member from each participating higher education institution in the state. The award recognizes:

• Effective teaching
• Effective advising
• Service to the university community
• Commitment to high standards of excellence
• Success in nurturing student achievement

“Winning this award made me feel incredibly appreciated,” said DeVore from the department of chemistry and biochemistry. “We all put so much effort into teaching and working one-on-one with students. I feel honored to be recognized.”

Research and support

Devore began her time at Missouri State in fall 2019. She has found the university offers the right balance of teaching responsibilities and research opportunities.

“MSU incorporates a lot of undergraduate and graduate research, which is important for a chemist,” she said.

Her current research involves synthetic fluorescent proteins . These proteins are useful because they can track activity in living cells. They can be used for a range of research activities.

“We’re trying to make them better in terms of thermal stability,” DeVore said.

She gives aspiring researchers the opportunity to conduct research as well.

“Right now, I have three high schoolers from local schools in my lab,” she said. “They’re fun to work with and excited about doing real science.”

She and a group of students are currently revising a manuscript that will be published in the summer.

“The students who are authors are mostly graduate and undergraduate students, but I do have some high schoolers who have contributed enough to have their names on the papers too” she said.

DeVore has committed to high standards of excellence for herself and her students.

“I put a lot of time and effort into the development of materials for my classes,” she said. “I want everything in the lab and research process to run smoothly.”

She also ensures her content is current and engaging to students.

“It’s an evolving field and I encourage students to ask questions. The extra mile I go to is trying to make sure my lectures are interesting and pull from what’s going on in terms of recent research,” she said.

She also makes it a point to know her students as people.

“Once you know students’ future and career goals, you can really help them excel in the classroom,” DeVore said. “I want to build a relationship with them so they’re comfortable to visit during my office hours or catch me after class if they need help.”

Learn more about the chemistry and biochemistry department