Pamplin Society of Fellows

Hey everyone out there in the blogosphere! This will be my first blog-type post on the internet since livejournal became passé (2004). So, I’d like to talk about Teacher of the Year 2010. In the fall, I became involved with the group in the Society that was responsible for helping to choose the Teacher of the Year at Lewis & Clark. We collect letters from the entire student body and with their guidance, choose what Lewis & Clark students believe to be the best teacher at the school.

I truly believe that this is one of the most important functions that the society performs and its both a privilege and a responsibility to be part of the Teacher of the Year committee. We’ve spent a lot of time revising our protocol for selecting the winner and we think that we have nearly perfected the selection process. Yet, without Lewis & Clark’s student’s letters, it will all be for naught! So please, if you’re reading this, and have had a teacher who has made an incredible impact on your education, send in a letter. Recognize your favorite professor! They like it when you do, I promise.

For the criteria that submissions will be graded on, check out this site: http://www.pamplinfellows.org/toty/criteria/

I’m really excited to read everyone’s letters. Well that’s my plug for Teacher of the Year submissions. Hope everyone has been having a great semester so far, Spring is just around the corner! I’m stoked.

Please turn in your letters to Alison Walcott — awalcott (at) lclark.edu

Learn more about the criteria here.

On April 15th Reiko Hillyer was selected as Teacher of the Year:

First round letters were reviewed and the finalists for Teacher of the Year 2009 were selected. They are:

• Reiko Hillyer- Department of History
• Matthieu Ralliard- Hispanic Studies Department
• James Proctor- Environmental Studies Department
• Matthew Robins- Theater Department

Letters of support are being accepted until Friday, April 3rd. Please send your letters to awalcott@lclark.edu

Please come to the Teacher of the Year Award ceremony on Wednesday, April 15th at 3:30 in Smith Hall. This is a time to recognize the achievements of these professors and to announce the winner of the award.

On Wednesday, April 16th, 2008, at a ceremony in Albany Smith Hall, the Pamplin Society honored the four finalists for Teacher of the Year 2007-2008. One student spoke on behalf of each of the four finalists: Greta Binford, Assistant Professor of Biology; Benjamin David, Assistant Professor of Art History; Orla McDonagh, Visiting Instructor in Music; and Mary Szybist, Assistant Professor of English. At the end of the ceremony, Pamplin Fellow Nora Germano announced that the title of Teacher of the Year 2007-2008 would go to Benjamin David.

Benjamin David has taught at Lewis & Clark since 2005. Though he specializes in Italian Renaissance painting, he has taught a range of courses on Western art from visual representations of Dante’s Divine Comedy to contemporary American art. His expertise, enthusiasm, and encouragement have impressed and inspired students from first-year core courses to senior seminars. He advocates a diversity of approaches to the material, but always emphasizes fun, compelling students, even non-majors, to take his courses again and again. In addition to being an excellent teacher, David has proven an influential administrator by serving as the art department’s chair, updating its major requirements, and increasing its faculty and course offerings.