Dr. Gene Hawkins, associate professor in the Texas A&M Zachry Department of Civil Engineering, is the recipient of a prestigious educator award from the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE). Hawkins, who is also a research engineer with the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI), received the 2012 Wilbur S. Smith Distinguished Transportation Educator Award at the ITE Annual Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, August 15.
ITE awards the Wilbur S. Smith award annually to recognize a transportation educator who has made an outstanding contribution to the transportation profession by relating academic studies to the actual practice of transportation. The award recognizes Hawkins for his commitment to the professional development of his students.
The wording on the award reads, in part: “Dr. Hawkins typifies the ‘best of the best’ in his personal commitment to achieving excellence, both as an academician and as a professional. His commitment to students has been demonstrated by the personal attention that he gives to his students and the assistance he gives them in furthering their careers.”
During his three-decade long education career, Hawkins has been very active in ITE activities, including as the Texas A&M ITE student chapter advisor from 2007 to 2010. Texas A&M ITE was awarded best chapter in the Texas District in 2008 and 2010, and the Texas A&M team won the inaugural ITE Traffic Bowl in 2010.