Nine faculty members awarded for teaching

This year's winners of the Lindback Award, the University's highest teaching honor, instruct in disciplines ranging from physiology to sociology. But all won the prestigious award for the same reason: dedication to their students. Provost Michael Aiken yesterday announced the eight Lindback winners from five different schools, along with the winner of the Provost award, given to distinguished teachers who are not a part of the University's standing faculty. The candidates, four from the health schools and four from non-health schools, will be honored at an open reception May 2. They were chosen from a pool of 21 candidates. The committees reviewed student and faculty recommendations in the selection of the winners, who will each receive $1000. The health schools winners are Associate Medical Cardiovascular Professor John Hirshfeld, Assistant Nursing Professor Linda Brown, Physiology Professor Carol Deutsch, and Dermatology Department Chairperson Gerald Lazarus. In the non-health schools, Associate Electrical Engineering Professor Jan Van der Spiegel, Associate Sociology Professor Willy De Craemer, Assistant Chemistry Professor Donald Berry, and Assistant Management Professor Paul Tiffany will be awarded. The Provost award winner is Senior Legal Studies Lecturer Diana Robertson. Aiken said last night that the Lindback candidates are "outstanding as they are every year." Electrical Engineering Professor Sohrab Rabii, who headed the selection committee for the non-health schools, said last night that committee members were unanimous in their choices, adding that the candidates are "absolutely first rate." The Lindback winners expressed delight yesterday at the award, saying that teaching was their first priority at the University. Assistant Nursing Professor Brown said she was pleased by the award, adding that her nomination alone demonstrated that her students appreciate her teaching. "I didn't go out and teach every day to get the award," Brown said. "It is very important to know I'm meeting my students' needs." Assistant Management Professor Tiffany said last night that he was shocked that he won the award because he did not even know he was nominated this year. Tiffany, who was denied tenure by the University last year, said that while he is extremely pleased that he was chosen to receive the prestigous award, he thinks it is "somewhat comical" that it was awarded after his tenure denial. "The Lindback has been called the kiss of death [for tenure candidates]," he said. "In my case it seems to be necrophilia." But Electrical Engineering Chairperson Rabii said that the Lindback Award does not hinder candidates' quests for tenure. He said that both research and teaching are recognized when awarding tenure. Committee members praised the award winners yesterday. "Obviously these people had all been through the [review] process so they are the finest educators," Associate Pathology Professor Michael Cancro. Law School student Diane Weber, the graduate student representative to the non-health school committee, said last night that the committee worked long hours to decide that the four winners were the best candidates to receive the award. And many of the winners' students yesterday praised the committees for their choices. Education doctoral student Gayle Glicksman, who took DeCraemer's graduate Medicine and Religion in Society courses, said last night that the professor is a "very outstanding teacher." "He has a capacity to be tolerant of different opinions and to allow students to express themselves while still maintaining a rigorous academic attitude," she said. "He is one of the finest professors I ever had."

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