5/21/03

NEW ACADEMY IN AUBURN COLLEGE HONORS TEACHING

AUBURN -- Auburn University's College of Liberal Arts has established the Academy of Teaching and Outstanding Teachers to recognize the career teaching achievements of top professors.

The college has inducted 36 present and former faculty as charter members of the Academy. Future membership will be limited to eight new members per year.

"The Academy is an exclusive and fine way to further recognize the college's superlative teachers," says interim Dean Rebekah Pindzola. "Further, the academy will provide an organized method for these scholars to mentor others into the craft of teaching excellence."

"What sets apart this academy from most awards programs is that membership is for life rather than one year, and selection is made by peers within the college on the basis of career accomplishments in teaching," said Bill Buskist, chair of the Promotion of Excellence in Teaching and Learning Committee, which selected the Academy's charter members.

Nominations came from throughout the college.

The Academy provides a core of teaching excellence to inspire and guide young faculty, Buskist said.

"We have had excellent teachers all along, but new faculty in the college sometimes had to be here a while before they found the right role models and mentors," he added. "From now on, the Academy will be the first place they will look."

Each nominee must have taught at least 10 years in the college before being considered for Academy membership.

In addition to current faculty, the roll includes members who have retired, died or moved to other universities. Those who are no longer in the college were included because their teaching excellence has become legendary, said Buskist, who is the Alumni Professor of Psychology.

The charter members come from nine departments, but Buskist said their teaching skills transcend departmental and college boundaries. The charter members, by department, are:

** Communication and Journalism: Mickey Logue, Jack Simms and Ed Williams.

** History: Donna Bohanan, Gordon Bond, Wayne Flynt and Joseph Kicklighter.

** Music: Wilbur Hinton, Thomas Smith and John William Tamblyn.

** Political Science: Gerard Gryski, Rene P. McEldowney and Christa Slaton.

** Sociology: Murray Adams, Greg Kowalski and Thomas Petee.

** English: Ward Allen, Paula Backscheider, Bert Hitchcock, Margaret Kouidis, Taylor Littleton, Jim McKelly, Constance Relihan and Dwight St.John.

** Philosophy: Charles Brown, Kelly Jolley, Lillian Pancheri, Clif Perry, Richard Penaskovic and Ken Walters.

** Psychology: William Buskist, Malcolm Gynther, Peter Harzem, Philip M. Lewis and Dudley McGlynn.

** Theatre: Daniel Larocque.

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may03:AU-academy

CONTACT: Pindzola, 334/844-4026.