Profs, grad students honored at reception

Ira Abrams andIra Abrams andDean's Awards given History Professor Drew Faust has a sense of humor about the recognition she has received for her outstanding teaching abilities. After hearing a student's statement that she "quite literally changed the trajectory of my life," Faust said she hoped the change was for the better. "The person might have been a rich banker," she said. School of Arts and Sciences Dean Rosemary Stevens presented Faust with the SAS Ira Abrams Memorial Award for Distinguished Teaching during a reception yesterday. In addition, eight graduate students received the Dean's Awards for Distinguished Teaching. Approximately 50 students and faculty attended the gathering, which was held in the Furness Building's Arthur Ross Gallery. The Abrams Award has been given to an SAS professor annually since 1983. Faust -- who received the Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching in 1982 -- said she believes the overall teaching level at the University is high. "I have been deeply impressed by how much effort and how much care goes into teaching at Penn," she said. Faust explained that she found the recent Philadelphia Inquirer series of articles about the University "distressing." "We are all teachers and we are all learners," Faust said, adding that a research university like Penn is "a continuum of learning that pushes to the edges of human knowledge. "We must defend the research university," she said. Faust -- who received her American Civilization doctorate from the University in 1975 and has been teaching since then -- said her "very smart" students have complemented and shaped her teaching and research. "They insist on my asking big questions," Faust said. "I think I'm a much better historian for being forced to ask those questions." In presenting the awards, Stevens read poignant excerpts from students' and faculty members' nomination letters. "Professor Faust is unequivocally the best teacher I have ever had," wrote one student. And College senior Elana Harris noted before the reception that Faust "really cares about her students." "She really wants them to enjoy what they're learning," said Harris, who is currently doing an independent study project with Faust. Stevens read similar comments about the graduate students who received the Dean's Awards. One of English graduate student Peter Parolin's students called him "the yardstick by which all my subsequent teachers will be measured." And one professor said that American Civilization graduate student Bruce Lenthall "has excellent rapport with his students." "They like him, they respect him and they work for him," Stevens read. Award recipient and German graduate student Scott Shrake -- who teaches introductory German -- said he attempts to make the class more interesting through media such as movies. "I do try to not just teach the language but bring the culture to life," Shrake said. And History graduate student Elisa von Joeden-Forgey, who also won a Dean's Award, said she envisions "the classroom as a workshop." "We're all sort of historians here," she said. Political Science Department Chairperson Thomas Callaghy called awardee and Political Science graduate student Scott Silverstone "one of the best graduate students" in the department. Other Dean's Award recipients included Philosophy graduate student Michael McShane, Biology graduate student Paul Nealen and English graduate student Roberta Stack.

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