Chelsea ColleyKenton Sena, Ph.D., a lecturer in the University of Kentucky Lewis Honors College, is one of this year’s Great Teacher Award recipients. He joined the UK faculty in 2018 and teaches courses on forest restoration ecology, environmental science and literature of the environment.
“I am invested in my community and invested in relationships, and I think that’s a strength in the classroom, because students feel like I am invested in them,” Sena said. “I try to be as active as I can in doing meaningful work in the community and on campus, and I am able to invite students to participate in that with me.”
Sena’s service-learning program engages students in environmentally-relevant projects in Lexington and across the Commonwealth. As part of his course, “The Ecology of Middle-earth,” Sena and his students traveled to Daniel Boone National Forest to help restore native forests on a surface mined site. Read more here.
“We’re able to go out in the woods and cut some honeysuckle and then plant some trees. And I think that active participation is something that students really appreciate,” Sena said. “I really want to help students cultivate a curiosity for learning and knowing outside of whatever their field of focus is.”
Sena earned a bachelor’s degree in biology with a minor in literature from Asbury University, and his master’s degree and Ph.D. from UK. He has published papers in journals such as Forests, Ecological Restoration, Science of the Total Environment, and Forest Ecology and Management.
