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Ten Graduate Students Recognized for Outstanding Teaching The award, jointly sponsored by the Graduate School and the Office of
the Vice Provost and Dean for Undergraduate Education, recognizes graduate
student teaching assistants for superior instruction in the areas of physical
science and engineering, life sciences, social and behavioral sciences,
and the arts and humanities. The recipients receive $500 and a framed
certificate. The selection committee judges nominees on criteria, including effectiveness
of their presentations, use of clear and fair evaluation procedures, accessibility
to their students, and sensitivity to individual differences in the classroom. The 2002 winners are: Michael E. Brown, management and organization;
Douglas N. Dow, art history; Oscar Fernàndez, comparative
literature; Andrew Greenberg,
chemistry; Nelson Hayes, biology;
Eric Lorentzen, English; Kimberly A. Roth, mathematics;
Oscar J. Shutt, industrial and manufacturing engineering; Jaime
Stallard Whitlock, geosciences; and Bernd Wittek, materials
science and engineering. Brown has taught courses in organizational behavior and business ethics,
and came to the Smeal College of Business Administration’s Ph.D.
program with a background in educational fund-raising. A husband and father
of two, he earned praise for his commitment to fostering critical inquiry
in the classroom, and for moving from theory to practice in his teaching
and research on leadership issues. Dow’s teaching assignments have included Introduction to Art, History
of Art II and Italian Renaissance Art, from which he garnered students’
plaudits for his enthusiasm, preparation and knowledge. With his research
interests in Italian renaissance art, he is known for connecting the historical
context of the times to events in the contemporary world as a way of engaging
his students in classroom discussions. Fernàndez’s work in the classroom has spanned English and
Spanish instruction, world literature, myths and mythologies, the literature
of the occult and more. His ability to teach from a global perspective
was highlighted by his nominators for the award. He has concentrated much
of his research on issues related to HIV/AIDS in literature and such authors
as Nuria Amat and Severo Sarduy. Greenberg is pursuing a program emphasizing
chemistry education, and has taught introductory organic chemistry labs
for more than four years. Those who nominated him for the award pointed
out his involvement in the Fun and Learning Activities in Science for
Kids (FLASK) outreach projects to local schools and the Science Action
Potential Summer Program, as well as his devotion to curriculum improvements
and student guidance. Hayes’s teaching experience ranges
from courses on biodiversity to plant anatomy, and he is known for his
skills at designing and implementing high-tech teaching methods, such
as Web-based computer modules. While his research focuses on the hitherto
unknown scope of effects of inbreeding on the male function of plants,
he is applauded by nominators for innovations in online course content
that are positively affecting nearly 1,000 students each year. Lorentzen has led courses in such topics as British literature, writing
in the humanities, technical writing, and rhetoric and composition. He
is recognized as a demanding yet intellectually stimulating instructor.
Although he mainly concentrates on 19th and 20th century fiction for his
degree work, his teaching is highly interdisciplinary--in one class project,
for instance, his students focused on Walt Disney films and a book-length
critical analysis of the Disney empire. Roth has taught courses ranging from finite
mathematics to multivariate and vector calculus and differential equations,
and garnered praise from her nominators for motivating even non-math majors
through real-world examples of mathematic principles. She is also known
for her involvement in undergraduate tutoring and the creation of a new
graduate teaching assistant training program, and for her availability
for consultation outside the classroom. Shutt’s teaching has focused on the laboratory section of a required
senior course in industrial engineering on human factors engineering,
the students of which have cheered his leadership skills, approachability
and clarity. In addition to his own research on software development for
time studies, he recently developed a new Web site for the course, and
has tutored with the Morgan Academic Support Center for Student-Athletes. Whitlock has been a lab instructor for courses in physical geology and
Earth materials, as well as taught the geology of the national parks and
natural disasters (the latter course is a popular “Hollywood vs.
Reality” general education offering that she helped develop). Those
who nominated her for the award pointed out her dedication to science
education and service as a role model for women in science while also
pursuing her own research in petrology. Wittek has assisted with at least a half dozen materials and metals science
and engineering courses and helped post them online, and was noted by
his nominators for his enthusiasm for applying computer-based technologies
and implementing new laboratory experiments within the program. A researcher
on corrosion for his degree work, he is also active with the International
Hospitality Council for Penn State and with the Pennsylvania Junior Academy
of Science. **gwc** Contact:
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| This page is maintained by Barbara K. Kennedy: science@psu.edu, (814) 863-4682 and Leta A. Krumrine: LAK15@psu.edu, (814) 863-8453 Eberly College of Science, Office of Public Information, 427 Thomas Building, University Park, PA 16802-2112 This page was last updated on 10 April 2002 If you would like
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