April 24, 1998
Contact: Beth Fox
(615) 343-3210
| |
April 24, 1998 Contact: Beth Fox (615) 343-3210 |
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Vanderbilt professors Marshall Eakin and Kathy Hoover-Dempsey were awarded Chairs of Teaching Excellence by Chancellor Joe B. Wyatt at the spring Board of Trust luncheon April 24.
Eakin, associate professor of history, and Hoover-Dempsey, associate professor of psychology and education at Peabody College, were chosen by a 12-member committee of their peers for teaching excellence and for making a difference in the lives of their students. Chairs of Teaching Excellence carry three-year, non-renewable terms and a $10,000 annual salary supplement. The recipients also become leaders in the effort to foster quality teaching at the University.
Eakin, who joined the Vanderbilt faculty in 1989, serves as the associate director of the Center for Latin American and Iberian Studies, and has been appointed to chair the task force on Latin American Studies and Related Development Studies. Eakin has received numerous awards, including the Ernest A. Jones Faculty Adviser Award, the Chancellor's Cup, the Madison Sarratt Prize for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching and the Jeffrey Nordhaus Award from the College of Arts and Science.
Eakin "has honed his reputation in the classroom while also being a prolific writer and researcher, and has been recognized as one of the country's leading authorities on Brazil," Wyatt said.
Eakin's work with students includes being a regular participant in Alternative Spring Break, leading groups of students to Monterrey, Mexico, and Union, W. Va.
In course evaluations, his students consistently use phrases like "the best teacher I've ever had at Vanderbilt" and "Professor Eakin has a natural gift for teaching."
Kathy Hoover-Dempsey is, "in the words of one of her colleagues, a 'teacher's teacher,'" Wyatt said. "New faculty members and veterans alike have been known to turn to her for advice." Hoover-Dempsey consistently receives among the highest course evaluations in Peabody College.
Hoover-Dempsey came to the George Peabody College for Teachers in 1973, six years prior to its merger with Vanderbilt and has served on the faculty ever since. She has held a number of administrative and mentoring positions at Peabody, including director of graduate studies in psychology, acting chair, associate dean for academic affairs and, currently, director of the undergraduate major in child development, the fastest growing major at Peabody.
Hoover-Dempsey has received the Thomas Jefferson Award, the Ellen Gregg Ingalls Award and the Outstanding Professor Award at Peabody College.
Her classes are always rated highly by students, who regularly describe her courses as "demanding," "rigorous," "inspiring" and "exciting."
The Chairs of Teaching Excellence Committee consisted of faculty members from a number of schools, the director of the Center for Teaching and Associate Provost John Venable, who serves as chair.
Wyatt established the Chairs of Teaching Excellence in 1993 to recognize extraordinary accomplishments of teachers and to promote the further enhancement of teaching at Vanderbilt. Through this initiative, up to two chairs are awarded annually to faculty members actively involved in graduate or undergraduate classroom teaching.
-VU-
Vanderbilt University is a private research university of approximately
5,900 undergraduates and 4,300 graduate and professional students. Founded
in 1873, the University comprises 10 schools, a public policy institute,
a distinguished medical center and The Freedom Forum First Amendment Center.
Vanderbilt offers undergraduate programs in the liberal arts and sciences,
education and human development, engineering and music, and a full range
of graduate and professional degrees.
For more news about Vanderbilt, visit the News and Public Affairs home page
on the Internet at http://www.vanderbilt.edu/News.