Jon Erlandson, an associate professor of anthropology, was in the middle of presenting slides to a lecture class last spring term when University President Dave Frohnmayer and Erlandson’s wife, associate anthropology Professor Madonna Moss, interrupted his class. To Erlandson’s surprise, Frohnmayer presented him with a crystal apple, and then surprised Moss by presenting her with one, too.
Both Erlandson and Moss had won the Thomas F. Herman Award, one of the University’s two annual Distinguished Teaching Awards. Catching the winners off-guard has become Frohnmayer’s traditional way to notify the award recipients.
Besides the crystal apples, Erlandson and Moss also received a $2,000 stipend and were honored at the University’s 2000 commencement ceremony.
This year’s nominations for the awards are due by Friday, and any student or faculty member can make a nomination. Forms are located in Room 207 Johnson Hall and can be found in issues of the Emerald. E-mail nominations, including the nominators’ contact information and a short paragraph about whom they are nominating and why, can be sent to Gwen Steigelman, assistant vice provost for academic affairs.Steigelman said no more than three faculty members can win either the Herman or Ersted awards annually.
Erlandson said after the initial shock of Frohnmayer’s visit to his class wore off, he felt honored to have won, and said he is more likely to nominate a colleague this year.
“Since winning, I now feel even more pressured to prepare and do better, and that’s a good thing,” he said. “Good teaching is so essential to what we do here on campus.”
Moss agreed and said she still tries to improve herself as a teacher.
“Even though I got the teaching award, I feel there is still so much I want to learn about teaching,” she said.
Steigelman said both awards are funded by various donors and University alumni. She said the Ersted Award is for individuals who have taught for six to seven years, and the Herman Award is for senior faculty who have been teaching for more than seven years.
“We’re not putting one group against the other,” Steigelman said. “The goal is to recognize distinguished teaching and reward them for a job well done.”
The final decisions are made by the Distinguished Teaching Awards Committee.
“It’s very much like a scholarship type of situation,” she said.
Dana Johnston, a professor and department head for geological sciences, is serving his second year on the award committee. He said winners are usually notified during the latter half of spring term.
“It’s a pretty thorough screening,” Johnston said. “We want to find [nominees] who can do it all.”
He said the committee is made up of about half a dozen members who filter through nominations to pick out the finalists. He said the finalists’ departments are then contacted to gather more information about the nominees, such as student evaluations. Department heads may also be asked for their opinions about the nominees, and committee members may even sit in on a class the nominee teaches.
“Each person ends up with a substantially thick file,” Johnston said. “We seek information until we can reach a decision about the winners.”
The winners also sit on the stage at graduation, are recognized during the ceremony and are also invited to the pre-commencement brunch, he said.
“I think the recipients truly feel this is a great recognition,” he said.