2004 College Teaching and Service Awards

It's official. The teaching, research and service awards presented annually by the College of Education to outstanding faculty, students and staff were announced at the spring College meeting on Thursday, May 6, 2004.

Award recipients are nominated by colleagues in the College and winners are chosen by the College Faculty and Staff Awards committee. Click on the links below to read a little more about each recipient this year.

Congratulations to all of the 2004 Award Recipients.

If you have any questions regarding the College of Education Teaching and Service Awards, please contact:

Staci Tankersley
38 Education Building
MC-708
244-3580 or e-mail at tank@uiuc.edu

2004 Award Recipient Introductions:

Distinguished Career Teaching Award for Faculty

Liora Bresler, Professor of Curriculum and Instruction

Letters of support and unsolicited testimonials for our 2004 recipient of the Distinguished Teaching Career Award were comprehensive, enthusiastic, persuasive and came with a collection of postmarks that circled the globe. Liora Bresler, in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, has very clearly left a lasting and an overwhelming positive mark on both her students and her colleagues in her time here.

She is nearly a permanent resident on the Incomplete List of Excellent Teachers ? holding a spot there in nearly every semester for the past 15 years. Students, undergraduate and graduate alike, from more than 20 departments across campus have experienced her courses. And, in letters and in evaluations, their comments draw the picture of a scholar and a teacher who is committed to challenging her students and who is even more committed to doing whatever it takes to help them meet those challenges.

"The most captivating lecturer I've ever heard." "A mentor and a role model." "Working with Liora has been one of the true highlights of my personal and professional life." These are the things you hear over and over when you ask people about her.

Congratulations to Liora Bresler, our 2004 Distinguished Teaching Career Award recipient.

Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award

Daniel Walsh, Associate Professor of Curriculum and Instruction

"My mailbox was flooded with e-mails and letters commending his abilities as a teacher," according to one of the nominators for our 2004 recipient of the Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award. In his 14 years with the College, Daniel Walsh, from the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, has developed a reputation among graduate students as both an outstanding teacher and as a valuable and respected source of guidance and support.

Many, many students, current and former, note Daniel's ability to establish personal connections in the course of his teaching. One commented, "Even in classes as large as 80, he was able to call each student by name." His classes are described as "inspiring," "engaging," and by every other positive description you might imagine. Or, as another student succinctly put it, Daniel Walsh's teaching gets "two thumbs up."

Congratulations to Daniel Walsh, our 2004 recipient of the Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award.

Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award for Faculty

Fouad Abd El Khalick, Associate Professor of Curriculum and Instruction

The reviews were glowing for our 2004 recipient of the Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award for Faculty. One example started, "[He] is one of the best teachers I have ever had the pleasure to observe. We are very fortunate to have him here." And, that came from a fellow professor. From both faculty and student, it was very clear that Fouad Abd El Khalick is both an inspirational and an effective teacher.

Fouad combines his research on the nature of science with the structure and teaching of his courses. This results in an environment where his students become actively engaged in thinking about why and how to teach science as well as learning the methods and practices to make them effective in the classroom. Student comments show attest that he is not only inspirational, but that he was a model for their own teaching ? which as one faculty member puts it, "is perhaps the greatest compliment that can be given to a teacher."

One former student explained her experience like this: "Although meeting at 8:00am for a 3-hour class might be thought of as dreadful in other subjects, we all looked forward to each class with Fouad."

Another had this to say, "If Fouad doesn't get this award, please let me know and I will write another letter."

That, we're happy to report, will not be necessary. Congratulations to Fouad Abd El Khalick, our 2004 recipient of the Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award for Faculty.

Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching for Teaching Assistants

Debra Boros Erickson, Department of Curriculum and Instruction

The students who have been taught by our 2004 recipient of the Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award for Teaching Assistants use words such as "effective," "inspirational," "caring," and "passionate," to describe her. The faculty in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction use those same words when they talk about Debra Boros Erickson. In her 4 years with the department Debbi has established a well-earned reputation as an exemplary teacher and as one committed to preparing her students for their future classroom careers.

One faculty member observes that Debbi "feels personally responsible for making sure every student of hers leaves the University of Illinois having had the opportunity to reach his or her fullest potential."

And, one of her students offered this comment on Debbi's commitment to education and to teaching. "I will never forget Debbi telling our class, 'I hate that phrase, 'if I can affect one child then I've succeeded.' The phrase should be, 'if I can affect every child, then I've succeeded.'? I now live by that motto."

Congratu lations to Debra Erickson, our 2004 recipient of the Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award for Teaching Assistants.

Outstanding Faculty Award for Service

Adelle Renzaglia, Professor and Head, Department of Special Education

The recipient of our 2004 Outstanding Faculty Award for Service shouldn't really even be around to receive it, as she is on sabbatical leave this year ? her first in 13 years. That may be a shock to all of you who saw her in the halls, or in her office or in meetings throughout the year. But, as all of us can attest, even when she is supposed to be taking a break, service comes first for Adelle Renzaglia.

Adelle has long been a leader, within her department, within the College and within the state. But, in particular, her efforts over the past several years truly stand out. Whether coordinating the wholesale recreation of the special education teacher preparation curriculum two years ago, or handling the advising responsibilities for all 45 students in a new certification program, or resolving budget issues as the department head or serving as a consultant to the Illinois State Board of Education, Adelle has set a standard for faculty service to her colleagues and to our community that is simply unmatched.

Congratulations to Adelle Renzaglia, our 2004 Outstanding Faculty Award for Service recipient.

The Spitze/Mather Faculty Award for Excellence

Susan Matoba Adler, Assistant Professor of Curriculum and Instruction

The Spitze/Mather Faculty Award for Excellence, created to recognize emeritae Professors Hazel Taylor Spitze and Mary E. Mather, supports excellence in teaching, research and applied programs related to family-life issues. Our 2004 recipient, Susan Matoba Adler, from the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, most certainly fits this description.

Susan's research and teaching on the topic of Asian American families, primarily in the Midwest, is making significant contributions in an area of inquiry that is particularly underserved. Her triple-stranded approach considers early childhood education and family involvement, issues of race, ethnicity and identity in teacher education and diversity within Asian American ethnic groups.

Her work is helping to create a better understanding of Asian American families and cultural identity and is providing great contributions to the knowledge base required for culturally relevant teaching.

Congratulations to Susan Matoba Adler, our 2004 Spitze/Mather Faculty Award for Excellence recipient.

Distinguished Staff Award

Laura Irle, Staff Secretary, Department of Human Resource Education

One of the nominators for our 2004 Distinguished Staff Award recipient says, "It is extremely difficult to convey in a letter how strongly I feel about her qualifications for this award." He does a remarkable job anyway. As do the numerous others who all agree that Laura Irle, in the Department of Human Resource Education, truly defines excellence in everything that she does.

In her 7 years with the department, Laura has served as a first contact for newcomers, a last congratulation for graduates and has helped faculty, staff and students navigate through everything from faculty searches to the crashing glass of remodeling projects. With Laura, it is always, always, about the improvement of the department and about making things better, easier and more productive for the people she works with.

As an example, when HRE changed its approach to offering qualifying exams this year, Laura wanted to make sure the students would be prepared. She created and organized a series of monthly study group sessions for the students and scheduled faculty members to participate. One nominator comments that the first response by all involved was "Why didn't the faculty come up with this idea?"

For her exemplary performance and her efforts that always go far beyond even the highest expectations of the department and the College, congratulations to Laura Irle as our 2004 Distinguished Staff Award winner.

Academic Professional Excellence Award

Ryan Thomas, Associate Director, Office of Educational Technology

Our Academic Professional Excellence Award recipient has been with the College for more than 9 years. And, in that time, numerous attempts to nominate him were made by individuals ? only to be tossed out on a technicality. Ryan Thomas, while he had his office in OET and could be found in the building any time you needed him, was technically a Campus Information Technology and Educational Services consultant assigned to us. That only a handful of people in this room ever knew that fact pretty much says it all about Ryan and his dedication to the faculty, staff and students of the College of Education.

The past 10 years have seen a real explosion of technological innovations, changes and opportunities in the College. We've gone from classrooms with overhead projectors to technology-enabled classrooms, one of the fastest networks on campus, wireless computing labs, 18 servers, and six full-time IT staff. The list could go on for hours. But it all started, literally, with Ryan. And, it's safe to say, that without his dedication, inspiration and dogged encouragement, the road from there to here would have been a far more frustrating and challenging one.

Ryan's nominators and supporters frequently used words such as "indispensable," "commitment," and "leadership" in their descriptions. Congratulations to Ryan Thomas as our 2004 recipient of the Academic Professional Excellence Award.


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College of Education
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