SU to honor Teaching Recognition Award recipientsApril 19, 2004
On April 23, six Syracuse University faculty members will be honored as the 2004 recipients of the Teaching Recognition Awards, sponsored by SU’s Meredith Professors. They will be feted by the University community at a reception at 2:30 p.m. in the Noble Room of Hendricks Chapel.
This year’s awardees are: Carol Babiracki, associate professor of fine arts; Julie Hasenwinkle, assistant professor of bioengineering and neuroscience; Anne Kelso, lecturer in the College of Human Services and Health Professions’ School of Social Work; Tiffany Koszalka, associate professor of instructional design, development and evaluation; Jonathan Massey, assistant professor of architecture; and Amardo Rodriguez, associate professor of communication and rhetorical studies.
The program was established in 2001 through an expansion of the Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professorship Program. The Meredith Professors themselves proposed that the Teaching Recognition Award program recognize excellence in teaching by non-tenured faculty and adjunct and part-time instructors. Recipients are selected for teaching innovation, effectiveness in communicating with students and the lasting value of courses.
To be eligible, candidates must have completed two years of service to the University and not yet received tenure. Each recipient is given $3,000 to further their professional development.
Carol BabirackiSince coming to SU’s Department of Fine Arts in The College of Arts and Sciences in 1999, associate professor Carol Babiracki has compiled an impressive record of teaching accomplishments. She has created a new set of courses in ethnomusicology for her department; offered generous assistance to undergraduate and graduate students as an advisor and mentor; and devoted her energy to developing and promoting a new major in music history and culture. Her creative approach to teaching regularly includes dance, and her classes are often supplemented by performing artists.
“We normally look at music and dance as entertainment or a commodity. I encourage my students to see that it is expressive culture that shapes and is shaped by the way people think and live-their ideas of the world, ideas of politics, ideas of religion and ideas of social organization,” says Babiracki.Known by her peers as a master teacher and charismatic communicator, Babiracki’s courses are well enrolled with students from across the University.
“Judging from student evaluations, Prof. Babiracki is an extremely gifted and enthusiastic teacher. More than a few students have suggested that she is the best professor they have encountered at SU,” says William P. Tolley Distinguished Teaching Professor Laurinda S. Dixon.
Her contributions to the curriculum have been instrumental in the continuing accreditation of the Rose and Jules R. Setnor School of Music in the College of Visual and Performing Arts, and she has worked to build the University’s world music collection and make the collection available to students. She is an affiliated faculty member in South Asian studies, Middle Eastern studies and the Religion and Society Program.
Babiracki came to SU after four years as an assistant professor of historical musicology and ethnomusicology at Harvard University. Prior to that, she taught ethnomusicology at Brown University for seven years. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and her master’s and bachelor’s degrees, summa cum laude, from the University of Minnesota.
Julie HasenwinkelIn her four years as an assistant professor of bioengineering and neuroscience in the L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science, Julie M. Hasenwinkel has made a significant impact on numerous undergraduate and graduate students through her teaching.
“Julie’s excellence in teaching is readily apparent in the ways in which she participates, contributes and leads the teaching efforts of our department,” says Jeremy Gilbert, professor and chair of the Department of Bioengineering and Neuroscience.
Hasenwinkel has developed two new graduate courses and both have seen high enrollment since inception. Hasenwinkel has also enhanced two pre-existing courses, all while developing her laboratories, publishing papers and applying for research funding. She is currently engaged in field-leading research on nerve regeneration following spinal cord injury, as well as the development of a new type of bone cement for joint replacements.
Research is the focus of the bioengineering department’s Biomaterials Group, of which Hasenwinkel and Gilbert are the core faculty members. About 25 undergraduate and graduate students voluntarily come together each week to present their research, discuss particular problems and to learn from each other. “Julie is instrumental to the success of this group, its high attendance and the intellectual content,” Gilbert says.
Hasenwinkel’s students laud her as well. “Julie is one of the most dedicated and hard-working professors I have ever had,” says Matt Mroczkowski ’00, G’02, a research engineer with the Zimmer Corp., one of the largest orthopedic manufacturers in the world. “I firmly believe that the experience I gained as a student helped prepare me for the career that I am now embarking on.”
“There is no question in my mind that Julie has made and will continue to make a profound impact,” Gilbert says. “Her enthusiasm for academic efforts is contagious, and her quality and dedication have raised our programs.”
Hasenwinkel received a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from Duke University, a master’s degree in bioengineering from Clemson University and a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from Northwestern University.
Anne KelsoIn her 11 years on the faculty of the School of Social Work in the College of Human Services and Health Professions, faculty member Anne Kelso has been known for performing above the call of the duty and demonstrating commitment and enthusiasm that extend throughout the classroom and beyond.
Through participation in curriculum committees, Kelso has made significant contributions to curriculum development and evaluation and to program innovation. She has represented SU at the New York State Social Work Education Association meeting for the past two years, and has used this and other experiences to play a supporting role in the preparation for the school’s reaccreditation review last year.
Not only does Kelso give students their first taste of their chosen major by teaching several introductory courses, but she also leads her students through the traumas and exhilarations of their first professional practice experiences in their senior field integrative seminar.
“Anne is particularly valuable as a social work practice instructor because she is an active practitioner and is able to bring her experiences into the classroom in important and challenging ways,” says Nancy Mudrick, director of the School of Social Work. According to Mudrick, Kelso is well-liked and respected by her students and colleagues for her commitment, accessibility and generosity, and her willingness to invest immense time and energy into teaching improvement and to activities related to the larger welfare of the school and its students.
Since 1990, Kelso has operated a private practice in Syracuse focusing on individual, couple and family therapy, as well as clinical supervision and consultation. She received her bachelor’s degree in social welfare from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale and her master’s in social work from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Tiffany A. KoszalkaKoszalka has been a tremendous asset to SU, specifically to the instructional design, development and evaluation (IDD&E) program in the School of Education, making her, in the three short years she has been with the University, one of the more popular teachers in IDD&E.
She has introduced electronic SMARTBoards-wireless mini-laptops and PDAs-into the classroom to support learning and instruction. Additionally, she has developed new graduate courses focused on emerging education technologies.
Known among her students as committed, thorough and involved, Koszalka has also been a leader among faculty. She has led faculty panels on the use of technologies in teaching; she was selected to be a new co-director the Center for Digital Literacy; and she serves as IDD&E liaison with SUNY Upstate Medical University.
“Tiffany regularly involves students in research, presentations and publications,” says J. Michael Spector, chair of IDD&E. “For this reason, many students make special requests that she serve as their advisor and on their dissertation committees.”
Koszalka insists that although teaching is natural to her it is quite challenging given the diverse needs of her students. “Building excellence in teaching requires developing and continuously improving skills that successfully engage students and colleagues in thinking and learning, ultimately preparing newcomers for and engaging old-timers in the evolution of our respective practices,” she says.
“Teaching must therefore be a constantly changing and evolving process that continues to mature as we seek to better understand and enhance our communities. Having great students and supportive colleagues provides an environment in which I have been able to develop as a good teacher.”
Jonathan MasseyMassey came to the School of Architecture after a distinguished career as a practitioner. With a master’s degree from the University of California-Los Angeles, Massey went on to hone his skills and talent at well-known California firms before returning to academe to earn his Ph.D. in architecture from Princeton University and later to teach at Columbia University, Parsons School of Design and Pratt Institute.
With the SU faculty since 2001, Massey has continued to make his name in the architecture field with publications, awards and exhibitions. At SU, he is also well known for his dedication to teaching.”Massey has transcended the traditional classroom, pervading different arenas within the school,” says Theodore L. Brown, graduate chair. “He has captured the imagination of many students and allowed them to embrace historical material as part of their professional education.”
Massey has also taken his mentoring beyond the classroom. He organizes the School of Architecture’s lecture series, which has brought diverse and world-renowned architects to campus, including Alice T. Friedman, Toshiko Mori, Maurice D. Cox and Nasrine Seraji. He is also a member of the University Senate Committee on Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Concerns, with which he is working to develop an interdisciplinary curriculum on LGBT studies.
Massey looks forward to continuing his learning and teaching. “I am likely to grow as a teacher in ways I cannot now fully anticipate,” he says. “But I am confident that my skills will continue to help provide-excuse the metaphor-a good foundation.”
Amardo RodriguezRodriguez came to the Department of Communication and Rhetorical Studies in the College of Visual and Performing Arts after an illustrious career as an educator and researcher.Rodriguez’ scholarship on communication and diversity has been widely recognized and published, including the forthcoming book, “Embodying the Life: Writings from Post-Colonialism.” He brings this expertise to his classrooms, excelling in critically examining with his students the ethics of communication theory, the contribution of communication to democracy, cooperation and egalitarianism and the emergent perspectives in intercultural communication.
Prior to coming to SU, Rodriguez was an assistant professor at Purdue University, a research associate at Howard University’s Research and Training Center for Access to Rehabilitation and Economic Opportunity, and a public relations officer with the Public Transport Service Corporation.He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of the District of Columbia, a master’s degree from Bowie State University and a Ph.D. from Howard University’s School of Communications.”Rodriguez is a superb scholar who constantly works on multiple projects, some initiated by him and others requested of him,” says Amos Kiewe, chair of the department. “He will no doubt bring much respect to the department and to the University.”
Rodriguez is passionate not only about his scholarship, but about what he sees as his vocation. “I come to teaching with all of my being,” he says. “My devotion is complete.
