Students’ nominations for the Distinguished Teaching Award now accepted

It is now time for students to think back and remember a teacher who has had an impact on their education at Kent State.

Students are encouraged to nominate a faculty member for the Distinguished Teaching Award, the university’s most prestigious faculty honor, according to an advertisement printed by the Alumni Association.

Award recipients are teachers who exhibit outstanding teaching abilities and are devoted to touching the lives of students.

To be eligible for the DTA, a faculty member must be on a full-time contract at any Kent State campus for a minimum of seven years, and taught at least one course in two semesters during each of the seven academic years. Previous winners are not eligible.

One previous winner is Tom Emmons. Emmons is a professor in the physics department. He said he teaches between 800 and 1,000 students each semester.

One class he teaches is Seven Ideas That Shook the Universe.

Emmons received the award in 1992. He was also a finalist in 1991, but did not win.

“Many people think it’s the most prestigious award because it covers the whole university and comes from the students,” Emmons said.

“I try to come across that I really care,” he said. “I think students have a sixth sense and can tell the difference between someone rambling through doing his job and someone that actually cares about them.”

If a nominee is not eligible or not selected as a Distinguished Teacher, he or she is still able to receive the Outstanding Teaching Award.

Last year, there were near 60 nominations for the DTA. Of those, about 30 were eligible, said Elizabeth Slanina, assistant director for outreach for the Alumni Association.

To nominate a faculty member, pick up a nomination form at the Williamson Alumni Center, or go to the Alumni Association’s Web site and nominate a teacher. The URL is www.kent.edu/alumni/GetInvolved/DTA.cfm.

A selection committee composed of students and staff will meet to review the applicants and narrow the field down to 10 finalists. Then, each DTA finalist submits a portfolio, which includes classes they are teaching, student evaluations and professional papers they would like to add, to be reviewed and considered during the selection of the three winners.

Each winner receives a $1,500 cash prize along with the award.

All students, alumni, faculty and staff are eligible to submit nominations. The deadline for nominations is June 30, 2005.

Contact career services and alumni affairs reporter Joe McKenzie at [email protected].