This is the fourth year in row that faculty members of the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts have received this award, including Anne Pollock (2014), Karen Head and Shatakshee Dhongde (2013), and Jin Liu (2012).

This award, offered through the joint support of CETL and BP America, provides Georgia Tech with the opportunity to highlight excellent teaching and the educational innovation that Junior Faculty bring to campus as they discover new knowledge through their research and choose teaching methods that make their knowledge accessible, applicable, and exciting to the learners they connect with in their classrooms and beyond.

Past recipients have been selected based on variety of criteria, including educational innovations and outreach, connections between research and teaching, impact on students' lives, and a passion for teaching and learning.

In 2014 Smith also received the Ivan Allen College Teacher of the Year and the Class of 1969 Teaching Fellow awards.

John Matthew Smith is an historian of the twentieth century United States, specializing in race, sports, and popular culture. He is also the undergraduate adviser for the Sports, Society, and Technology (SST) program.