Dr. Mike Stoots, a professor in East Tennessee State University’s College of Public Health, is the 2025 recipient of the university’s Distinguished Faculty Award in Teaching.
Stoots, who started as a temporary instructor at ETSU in 1992, serves as a professor in the College of Public Health’s Department of Community and Behavioral Health and is director of operations for Project EARTH (Employing Available Resources to Transform Health).
In his nomination packet, colleagues and students celebrated Stoots’ unique and student-focused approach to education.
“(Stoots) creates unique environments that break the traditional classroom mold and introduces opportunities for students to ask difficult questions and go beyond concepts discussed in class with practical applications,” wrote one former student. “In his classrooms, failure is not only permitted, but encouraged, so that we may explore innovative and creative approaches to complex health problems and build resilience when we do not find success immediately.”
“I am forever indebted to Dr. Stoots, as he is the reason I chose ETSU,” wrote another student.
Stoots has built a legacy of excellence in public health education, with multiple national and state-level honors recognizing his impact. The Distinguished Faculty Award is the latest in his illustrious career at ETSU, which includes receiving the 2025 Teaching Excellence Award from the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH) earlier this year.
Stoots also played a role in the ETSU College of Public Health securing the ASPPH’s Harrison C. Spencer Award for Community Service in 2024 and received the ASPPH’s Delta Omega Award for Innovative Curriculum in 2017 for his pioneering work with Project EARTH.
ETSU is one of only two colleges of public health in the nation to win each of those awards from the ASPPH, thanks in no small part to Stoots’ commitment to students and bettering public health.
“On the first day I meet students, I always ask, why are you here? What are you seeking in your education? And after we went around the room, one of the young ladies said, ‘Well, let me ask you, why are you here?’ I said, ‘That's a great question,’" said Stoots. “I said, ‘I'm here because I hope that your kids will have more opportunities. That's what brings me here every day.
“The second reason is that in our field, you may go out and help hundreds or thousands of people have better lives. That's why I come to work every day.’”
Many of Stoots’ awards have applauded his work with Project EARTH, a novel program that teaches students the skills necessary to protect and promote health and well-being in resource-limited settings.
Project EARTH launched in 2011 and has expanded considerably in the years since to include multiple academic courses as well as programs designed to develop innovative solutions to address the needs of people in resource-limited settings.
“At Valleybrook and in Project Earth, we want all the students to leave knowing that, despite your background, despite what you've been told your whole life, you can do what you put your heart and mind to,” said Stoots. “What they learn here may not be exactly what they'll be doing in the future, but they need that confidence that they can go out and solve problems, be it local, regional, state, national or larger.”
Stoots is joined by Drs. Aaron Polichnowski (Quillen College of Medicine) and Jeff Gray (Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy) as 2025 Distinguished Faculty Award recipients. Polichnowski earned the Distinguished Faculty Award in Research, while Gray earned the Distinguished Faculty Award in Service.
