Stoots was selected from more than 11,000 public health faculty across 150
Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health member institutions.
Since 1998, East Tennessee State University’s Dr. Mike Stoots has been a passionate educator in the ETSU College of Public Health – earning numerous awards and accolades for his commitment to further public health training and education in Appalachia.
Now, he has added yet another accomplishment to an already illustrious resume: the 2025 Teaching Excellence Award from the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH).
Each year, the ASPPH selects one honoree from more than 11,000 public health faculty spread across 150 member institutions for being outstanding in teaching and mentoring students toward distinction in public health research, teaching and practice
“I am thankful for such a wonderful award,” said Stoots, interim chair and professor in the college’s Department of Community and Behavioral Health. “This award reflects our supportive administration, tireless work from fellow faculty, the world’s greatest classroom that is Project EARTH and students who are willing to work beyond their comfort levels to improve the lives of others.
“It is with great honor that I accept this award for everyone involved,” he continued.
This award comes just a year after he helped the ETSU College of Public Health secure the ASPPH’s Harrison C. Spencer Award for Community Service, and eight years after his trailblazing work with Project EARTH earned him the ASPPH’s Delta Omega Award for Innovative Curriculum in 2017.
In 2018, Stoots also earned the Tennessee Public Health Association’s “Academian of the Year” award, in addition to numerous other awards and accolades accumulated over his more than two-decades at ETSU.
"Mike Stoots is not only a great teacher, he is a great innovator,” said Dr. Randy Wykoff, dean of the ETSU College of Public Health. “His work with Project EARTH at the Valleybrook campus is helping ETSU gain significant national recognition.”
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.
His efforts with Project EARTH (Employing Available Resources to Transform Health) were the focus on an article he authored for “Wilderness & Environmental Medicine” in 2022. Wykoff and Dara Young, academic coordinator for the college’s Department of Biomedical Health Sciences, were co-authors.
The article focuses on the importance of offering these simulated, hands-on learning experiences to students, noting that “while students are often taught the importance of these services, they are not always taught the practical skills necessary to provide them.”
“Understanding the lessons learned from the Project EARTH experience may be relevant for other academic programs and related training centers who will develop and implement their own hands-on training programs relevant to their own mission,” the article concluded.
Project EARTH launched in 2011 and has expanded considerably in the decade-plus to include multiple academic courses as well as programs designed to develop innovative solutions to address the needs of people in resource-limited settings.
It focuses on teaching students to design and create specific products for these situations while progressively honing those cross-cutting skills necessary to work effectively in these settings — notably teamwork, creativity and resilience.
“Project EARTH provides a platform for individuals to develop both personally and professionally,” Stoots said. “Learning to use their hands to create solutions to health challenges provides newly acquired skills and a mindset of innovation to improve the public’s health.”
To learn more about Project EARTH, visit etsu.edu/cph/earth. To learn more about the ETSU College of Public Health, or to apply, visit etsu.edu/cph/.
East Tennessee State University was founded in 1911 with a singular mission: to improve the quality of life for people in the region and beyond. Through its world-class health sciences programs and interprofessional approach to health care education, ETSU is a highly respected leader in rural health research and practices. The university also boasts nationally ranked programs in the arts, technology, computing, and media studies. ETSU serves approximately 14,000 students each year and is ranked among the top 10 percent of colleges in the nation for students graduating with the least amount of debt.
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