By Steve Esser
YOUNG HARRIS, Ga. — A member of the Young Harris College faculty since 2012, Professor of Psychology Dr. Amy L. Boggan was honored at the Young Harris College Convocation Aug. 14 with the
2025 Vulcan Teaching Excellence Award.
Established in 1991, the award recognizes outstanding professors on campuses of the Georgia Independent College Association.
“In the classroom and beyond, Dr. Boggan is a champion of student learning and academic excellence,” said Dr. Keith DeFoor, interim Vice President of Academic Affairs. The award was presented at the College’s Convocation, the annual celebration of the beginning of first-year students’ college experience. “Furthermore, Dr. Boggan excels in coordinating our annual Undergraduate Research Day, during which students across all disciplines present their scholarship. She is very deserving of this high award.”
The award recognizes an outstanding faculty member who demonstrates strong academic skills in the classroom and provides leadership and support in the other areas of campus life. The recipients are faculty who assist the institutions in nurturing an academic climate that fosters teaching and who provide leadership to enhance the campus community.
“I’m humbled to receive the Vulcan award as I am surrounded by talented, passionate colleagues. At YHC, students benefit from faculty mentorship and opportunities for collaborative work, and Undergraduate Research Day presentations and performances demonstrate the value of those educational experiences,” Boggan said. “It’s inspiring to watch students share their discoveries and talents, and I’m proud of the strong support our campus community provides to recognize student growth through hard work.”
Boggan, a Mississippi native, focuses her research on human expertise, particularly perceptual changes in response to various types of visual (e.g., chess positions, faces, music notation) and auditory (music, birdsong) expertise. She is also interested in human factors psychology.
She has presented her research at several professional conferences and is an author on papers appearing in the Journal of Neuroscience, the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, Neuroscience Letters, and Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.
Outside of the classroom, she is a musician and an avid birder (birdwatcher). She enjoys nature photography, and in 2019 one of her photos appeared in Birds & Blooms magazine.
About Young Harris College
Young Harris College is a private baccalaureate and master’s degree-granting institution located in the beautiful mountains of North Georgia. Founded in 1886 and historically affiliated with The United Methodist Church, Young Harris College educates, inspires, and empowers students through an education that purposefully integrates the liberal arts and professional studies. The College offers 34 majors and 23 minors, ranging from Biology or Outdoor Studies to Business Administration or Kinesiology. Approximately 1,300 students are enrolled in its residential and Early College programs. The College is an active member of the NCAA Division II and remains a fierce competitor in the Conference Carolinas. For more information, visit yhc.edu.
