 |
 |
|
Please send comments,
questions, and suggestions
about Oberlin Online news
and feature articles to
online.news@oberlin.edu.
SIX OBERLIN PROFESSORS NAMED "TOP CLASSROOM INSTRUCTORS" BY NOCHE
OCTOBER 16, 2003—Six Oberlin faculty members have been recognized as "creative and innovative teachers" by the Northeast Ohio Council of Higher Education (NOCHE), the representative body and professional organization for 21 universities and colleges in northeast Ohio.
Among the 56 instructors NOCHE honored as "top classroom instructors" during a recent ceremony at Case Western Reserve University are Oberlin’s Robert Bosch, professor of mathematics; William Patrick Day, professor of English and cinema studies; David Kamitsuka, associate professor of religion; Albert Porterfield, associate professor of psychology; Janice Thornton, associate professor of neuroscience and biology; and Steven Volk, professor of history.
"Oberlin is delighted to have this opportunity to highlight the achievements of some of its superb teachers at this area-wide event," says Grover Zinn, associate dean of Oberlin’s College of Arts and Sciences.
The Oberlin professors were selected from among 9,000 full and part-time faculty at the region’s higher education institutions. Those recognized cover a wide range of academic disciplines, ranks, and degree levels.
"This list of teachers underscores the quality and breadth of higher education throughout northeast Ohio," said Charles W. Hickman, NOCHE’s executive director. "These faculty and many of their colleagues are a primary reason why students from all 50 states and around the world select colleges and universities in our region to pursue their baccalaureate and graduate level studies. They have helped build higher education into one of northeast Ohio’s largest and most stable industries, educating 160,000 degree-seeking students and injecting $2.5 billion into the regional economy each year," he added.
The six Oberlin professors, who have all received Oberlin College’s Excellence in Teaching awards, were nominated for the NOCHE awards by the College Faculty Council and Clayton Koppes, dean of Oberlin’s College of Arts and Sciences and vice president of academic affairs. Oberlin issued the following citations to the six when it granted them awards:
- Robert Bosch’s colleagues describe him as "an absolutely phenomenal teacher." The superlative praise is well deserved. He is able to reach both highly skilled mathematics majors as well as those, (to quote one), "who thought math was comparable to pulling teeth." His openness, intellectual rigor, and organization make him one of Oberlin’s outstanding teachers. Furthermore, his work on mathematical puzzles and games continually amazes all, while he maintains a strong profile in a complex research field.
- As Professor of English and Cinema Studies, Pat Day brings a rich menu of literary theory, cultural studies, and cinema, along with contemporary literature, to the classroom. His enthusiasm (combined with intellectual incisiveness and a quick wit) engenders in students a reciprocal enthusiasm for learning. His leadership in developing and guiding the new Cinema Studies Program at Oberlin has been a signal contribution to our continued curricular growth.
- David Kamitsuka teaches with a passion for modern religious thought that is matched by the clarity of his intellectual analysis. Students respond to his rigorous standards and generous spirit with an enthusiasm for learning that exemplifies the best in the liberal arts tradition. He has provided outstanding leadership and vision in starting up and overseeing Oberlin’s new First Year-Seminar Program for incoming students.
- As Professor of Psychology, Al Porterfield exemplifies a teacher who represents rigorous and challenging teaching while constantly incorporating new learning/teaching strategies, especially the use of PowerPoint and web pages for courses, to enhance what is already deemed outstanding. He has worked not only to develop the psychophysiology laboratory but also to incorporate students quite successfully into his work in that lab setting.
- Janice Thornton’s contributions to teaching at Oberlin are many-sided. In her courses she is recognized by students and colleagues as outstanding for conveying not only the "nitty-gritty" of neuroscience but the "big picture" as well. She is a leader locally and nationally in the integration of students into research programs and of research experiences into teaching. She directs the College’s NSF-AIRE grant (Award for the Integration of Research and Education) and is a member of Project Kaleidoscope’s (PKAL) Faculty for the 21st Century, a project intent on transforming undergraduate science and mathematics education.
- The award of the American Historical Association’s prestigious Nancy Lyman Roelker Mentorship Award has confirmed Oberlin’s sense of Steve Volk’s excellence as a teacher. In the field of Latin American history he commands not only the respect of his students, but he also inspires them to think deeply. His commitment to innovative teaching can be discerned in his leadership role in the Brown Bag Pedagogy meetings and the Committee on Teaching. He has also reached out from the collegiate setting by receiving a grant for an NEH summer seminar for high school teachers on colonialism and British national identity.
Media Contact: Betty Gabrielli
       |