Described in online student reviews as “high energy,” “demanding but fair,” and “one of the best at Rutgers ... hands down,” Barry Qualls is the second Rutgers professor in three years to be named New Jersey Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE).

Qualls, a professor of English in New Brunswick and former chair of the English department, is now Rutgers’ vice president for undergraduate education after working as dean of humanities in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences for nine years. He taught the entire time he served as dean because of his love for teaching, particularly teaching his specialties – Victorian literature, Victorian women writers, and literature of the Bible. 

President Richard L. McCormick named Qualls vice president for undergraduate education after Qualls chaired the task force that spurred the ongoing transformations in undergraduate education in New Brunswick, including the creation of the School of Arts and Sciences and the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences. Although a collaborative effort, the task force’s findings were imbued with Qualls’ concerns about the engagement of college students.

Qualls was recognized not only for his teaching and his work on undergraduate education, but also for his prolific mentoring. Since he came to Rutgers in 1971, he has mentored and advised hundreds of students, helping them apply to graduate and professional schools and prodding them to explore intellectual activities outside the classroom.