Filreis, Rozin win Ira Abrams Award for Distinguished Teaching

English Professor Al Filreis and Psychology Professor Paul Rozin will be awarded the Ira Abrams Award for Distinguished Teaching, the most prestigious teaching prize the School of Arts and Sciences offers. The award is presented annually to SAS professors to highlight their excellence in teaching. According to an SAS statement, the award seeks "to recognize teaching that is intellectually challenging and exceptionally coherent, and that leads to an informed understanding of a discipline. "Recipients of the Ira Abrams Memorial Award are expected to embody high standards of integrity and fairness, to have a strong commitment to learning, and to be open to new ideas," the statement added. Both Filreis and Rozin will receive a $6,000 research grant and their departments will be awarded $4,000. "All that can go towards bettering their teaching, we hope," said Janine Sternlieb, executive assistant to the dean. In the past, this award has been given to faculty members such as Music Professor Lawrence Bernstein, Geology Professor Bob Giegengack and History Professor Alan Kors. The professors were chosen by a committee made up of Religious Studies Professor Stephen Dunning, Giegengack and Kors, as well as three students. The committee solicited nominations from faculty and students last fall, Sternlieb said. The individual departments were then asked to compile dossiers for all of the nominated professors. The dossiers contained letters commenting on teaching quality from students and faculty, as well as teaching evaluation forms, she added. Rozin said yesterday that he is very pleased to be chosen for the award, adding that he has not yet decided how he will use the grant. The three faculty members on the committee also decided upon the 10 recipients of the Dean's Award for Distinguished Teaching by Graduate Students, said Sternlieb. This award seeks "to recognize teaching that is intellectually rigorous, exceptionally coherent, and that has considerable impact upon students," according to a letter from SAS Dean Rosemary Stevens. The prize carries with it a $500 award for the graduate student. "It's a token of our appreciation for good teaching," Sternlieb said. "It's really to show that we value good teaching and that we want to reward that." There will be a reception next Wednesday afternoon to honor Filreis, Rozin and the 10 graduate students in the University Museum.