Jorge Chinea is one of six professors to receive the Wayne State University President's Award for Excellence in Teaching. Chinea, a resident of Roseville, is an assistant professor in the Center for Chicano-Boricua Studies in the College of Urban, Labor and Metropolitan Affairs.

The award recognizes faculty who have made outstanding contributions to teaching and includes a $2,500 honorarium.

Chinea's specialty is Latin American history but he also is an expert in the history of Chicano Boricua communities in the United States. He brings to the classroom a unique teaching style that promotes group discussion, critical analysis and student research.

His students comment that he can teach potentially controversial subjects in away that preserves the central focus of the lesson without diminishing the need of open dialog. His style is to ground controversy within a historical context, trace the evolution of the debate and probe students for critical analyses of the subject based on historical records. Student evaluations praise Chinea for his knowledge of the subject matter, his experience with the Latino American communities, his accessibility, enthusiasm and open rapport.

Chinea received bachelor's and master's degrees from the State University of New York at Binghamton and a doctorate from the University of Minnesota. He joined Wayne State in 1996. He previously served on the faculties of Mankato State University, Metropolitan State University and Macalester College (all in Minnesota) and at John Jay College of Criminal Justice (New York).