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UD honors excellence in teaching and advising
Excellence-in-teaching awards Four faculty members were given the excellence-in-teaching award, which are sponsored by the Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Foundation and the University Alumni Association. The $5,000 awards are based primarily on student evaluations. Excellence-in-teaching awards were presented to Marie Laberge, assistant professor of women’s studies; Robert Neeves, professor of health, nutrition and exercise sciences; Jonathan Russ, assistant professor of history; and Elizabeth Parker Ware, assistant professor of psychology. Marie Laberge Laberge has been a member of the UD faculty since 1996. She obtained a pair of bachelor’s degrees from Simmons College in Boston in the fields of history and communications and her master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, both in history. Laberge said she decided to become a professor because she enjoys exploring the circumstances of people’s lives and the challenges they face. “I love the fact that history, which many people think of as a boring or dusty academic field, is so alive with real people,” she said. “I hope that, in my teaching, I am able to bring that excitement and energy alive to my students.” The interaction with students is what she said she finds to be the most satisfying part of the job. Laberge said that every year, she is amazed at how much she learns from her students. Specifically, she said she enjoys the moments when she sees “the light go on” in her students’ eyes. Outside the classroom, Laberge has been a speaker at such campus events as Take Back the Night during Sexual Assault Awareness Week, the Women in Business lecture series and the Women In Leadership program. Her most memorable UD moment came recently, she said, when she was named a Vagina Warrior at the annual production of The Vagina Monologues. “It was very touching to me because it came directly from the students in recognition for my advocacy for women’s lives, a topic my students know I’m very passionate about,” she said. Robert Neeves Neeves is wrapping up his 34th year at the University of Delaware, after arriving here by what he said was “an evolutionary process.” Neeves earned a pair of bachelor’s degrees in physical education and English at Western Illinois University, his master’s degree in physical education at Illinois State University and his doctorate in exercise physiology at the University of Utah. Although his goal had been to teach high school physical education and English, during his first two years at the high school level, he said he decided he wanted to teach human anatomy and physiology at the university level. “There was something about my biology courses I could not ignore,” he said. Neeves said it is most satisfying to watch his students develop the same interest and desire to pursue a career in exercise physiology and other health-related sciences, as he did. “I discovered long ago that, as professors, we cannot teach our students anything,” he said. “We present materials and information for them to learn, but we must help them find it within themselves to want to learn what we have to offer.” Neeves said he keeps busy outside of the classroom as well. He holds an adjunct faculty position at University of Maryland Medical School in Baltimore, where he harvests and preserves human body organs and preserves them for later study. Jonathan Russ Russ has been at the University of Delaware since 1999. He received his bachelor’s degree from Colby College in Maine, and his master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Delaware. All of his degrees are in history. In his junior year of high school, Russ said he had a terrific experience with his U.S. history teacher, which inspired him to consider a career in history education. His experiences with the faculty at Colby College he said only served to reinforce his initial interest in becoming a professor. “I've been focused on that goal ever since and, frankly, I consider myself the luckiest person on Earth to have a career that I absolutely love,” he said.
“It's funny, I'm still nervous before I begin each and every lecture, but that's because I want to make sure that I'm giving the students my very best efforts,” Russ said. Russ said his most memorable UD moment was the 9/11 vigil held on The Green the day of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. He said that it was a powerful experience that demonstrated just how close the University community could be. Elizabeth Parker Ware Ware has been at the University of Delaware for two years. She received a bachelor’s degree with honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Delaware, all in psychology. She decided to accept a teaching position at UD, she said, because she felt it was an excellent venue for her to share her excitement about her discipline with others. “The possibility that I could spark the interest of an outstanding future researcher, teacher or clinician in psychology stays at the forefront of my mind,” she said. Ware said the most rewarding part of her job is seeing students wrestle in an honest way with issues in clinical psychology. She said she sees an inherent value in helping students realize that at times there is no clear-cut answer to a problem. In addition to her teaching responsibilities, she is in the process of getting her license to practice clinical psychology, which she said she wants to use to work with children and families. Ware said that receiving an award at this year's Honors Day ceremony shot right to the top of her most memorable moments at UD. “It means a lot to me to know that I’ve crafted a learning environment for the students which they find valuable,” she said. Excellence-in-advising awards Excellence-in-advising awards were presented to Jeff Gillespie, associate professor of accounting, and Kathleen Schell, assistant professor of nursing. Jeff Gillespie Gillespie is currently in his 27th year at the UD. He earned his bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees from Virginia Tech. All of his degrees are in accounting. While earning his master’s degree, he said he taught his first class and “fell in love with teaching.” Gillespie said that he enjoys advising junior and senior students in the accounting department. “I’m pleased when I can show them some options that they hadn’t even considered,” he said. Gillespie’s most memorable moment at UD was becoming tenured. He said that another great moment for him was winning a teaching award in 1982. Kathleen Schell Schell has taught at the University of Delaware since 1992. She earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of Indiana, Pennsylvania, and her master’s in nursing from the University of Delaware. Schell also has her doctorate in nursing science from Widener University. She said she enjoys teaching because it allows her to share her enthusiasm for the profession of nursing with others. She decided to become a professor during her years as a staff nurse, when she had the opportunity to train incoming nurses. “I enjoyed intellectually challenging the nurse interns and building mentoring relationships with many of them,” she said. “The transition to UD seemed a natural step.” Schell said that the most satisfying part of her job is being able to follow a student from freshman year to senior year, and sometimes, even to becoming a professional. “Students need to know that we care about them, about what they are doing and how they are doing,” she said.
For Schell, the college’s convocation is always a memorable moment because she gets to watch students whom she has worked with for up to six years cross the stage and receive their nursing pins. “They have become inspirations to others and represent the best qualities of the profession. Those moments are difficult to top,” she said. Excellence-in-teaching as teaching assistants Winning $1,000 awards for excellence-in-teaching as teaching assistants were graduate students Oluwafemi Balogun, mathematics, Lisa Dill, English, and Rodrigo Platte, mathematics. Oluwafemi Balogun Balogun has been a teaching assistant at the UD since the fall of 2002. He got his bachelor’s degree in physics from Obafemi Awolowo University in Osun State, Nigeria. He will graduate from UD with a master’s degree in applied mathematics this spring. Balogun said the most satisfying aspects of being a teaching assistant are the encounters he has with his former students. “I meet my former students, and they have cause to be happy that the materials I taught them became useful in their future course work, and they are actually doing great in those classes because of the knowledge gained from my class,” he said. Lisa Dill Dill has been a teaching assistant at the UD for the past two years. She received her bachelor’s degree in English from UD and will receive her master’s degree in May. She said that her time as a teaching assistant has been some of the most rewarding years at UD. “I know what it feels like to be a student here, and that helps me connect with my students,” she said. Before returning to UD for her master’s degree, Dill spent several years as a freelance writer and social worker, which she says helped her sharpen her skills. She said that helping people learn to communicate seems to be “the perfect mixture” of her abilities. After graduation, Dill will spend some time pondering a doctorate, while working for an integrated marketing and communications firm. Rodrigo Platte Rodrigo Platte has been a teaching assistant at the University of Delaware since the fall of 2000. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mathematics at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sol in Brazil. Currently, he is pursuing his doctoral degree at UD. After he received his master’s degree, Platte said he taught calculus for a year and found the experience rewarding and challenging. Because he wants to conduct research as well as teach, Platte said he decided that a doctorate would suit him best. “It is great to know you can make a difference in someone’s education,” he said. “Very often students have trouble with math, and being able to help them to have a better understanding and appreciation for the subject is very gratifying.” The $2,500 excellence-in-advising awards, presented to two faculty members, are given to emphasize the importance of excellent academic advising, to recognize and reward excellent faculty advisers and to encourage faculty to devote their time and attention to becoming more effective advisers. Article by Kevin Tressler, AS ’04 To learn how to subscribe to UDaily, click here. |
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