ALABAMA PROFESSOR DEEMED NO. 1 OUT OF NEARLY 2 MILLION ON INSTRUCTOR RANKING SITE

By WVUA 23 Student Reporter Sam Luther

The University of Alabama is known for being No. 1 at football, but one UA professor has more than 1.7 million professors and instructors beat on longtime college ranking site ratemyprofessor.com.

Criminal justice professor Douglas Klutz is the top-ranked professor in the country, according to an article in Forbes.

Klutz said he found out about his No. 1 ranking on an average class day.

“I didn’t expect it,” he said. “It was a surprise. I always check my email before class and to have that link in there was a complete shock.”

While Klutz was shocked, many of his former students said he’s more than deserving of the designation. One student told me he gave Klutz a five star rating and said he wholeheartedly agreed that Klutz was the best in the nation.

“His class was really big, but it felt pretty small,” said UA student Collin Burrwinkle. “I definitely think he’s the best professor at UA.”

Klutz said he teaches between 800 and 900 students every year.

“I’m not even a criminal justice major or minor, but he made the class super interesting,” said UA student Connor Baker. “I found myself going to class every single day and waking up for it with no hesitation.”

Klutz said he’s grateful for the recognition, but nobody’s perfect. There’s a lot more he can do for his students and the university, he said.

“There’s always room for improvement,” he said. “I’m even open to teaching more students if that opportunity presents itself.”