Excellence in Teaching Awards

 

EXCELLENCE IN Full-TIME TEACHING AWARDS

Congratulations to the recipients of MMC’s Excellence in Full-Time Teaching Awards:

2019-2020 Academic Year: Susan Behrens, Ph.D., Professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders

2018-2019 Academic Year: Erin Greenwell, MFA, Assistant Professor of Communication and Media Arts, and Nava Silton, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Psychology

2017–18 Academic Year: David Mold, MFA, Professor of Theatre Arts and Chair of the Division of Fine and Performing Arts

2016–17 Academic Year: Magdalena Maczynska, Ph.D., Associate Professor of English and World Literatures

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Excellence in Part-Time Teaching Awards

Each academic division selects one or more awardees (the number of awards varies based on the number of part-time faculty teaching in the division). Congratulations to the 2018–19 recipients of the Excellence in Part-Time Teaching Awards:

Amit Bhattacharyya, International Studies
Amit Bhattacharyya has brought 25 years of UN experience to his 15 years teaching at MMC. His lasting impact goes far beyond his classroom teaching: He opened up the UN to Marymount, and our UN Program is the only of its kind on the East Coast that gives undergraduates such intimate access to this global organization. It would have been unthinkable without him.

Anthony D’Agostino, Writing
Tony has taught at MMC for 5 years, during which time he has also worked as a CAST writing tutor. He has taught the full range of writing courses in our program, from introductory courses through Writ 102 (and will teach our advanced course in Fall 2019. Tony’s courses are rigorous, and yet his approach is highly individualized: students receive extensive written and oral feedback on their coursework. In the Academic Writing Program’s biannual workshops, Tony has described student conferences as a centerpiece of his writing instruction, sharing methods for moving students toward productive revision in those meetings. Tony’s flexibility, mastery of writing pedagogies, and commitment to individualized writing instruction make him an asset to our program and a fitting recipient for this year’s award.

Julia Gran, Art and Art History
Julia Gran has been a stalwart in the Art and Art History program since 2008.  Over this time, she has crafted curriculum for many illustration and graphic design classes and inspired countless students to launch a career in the arts. As a professional in the field, she brings real life experience to the classroom and provides students with the skills to navigate the business of art successfully. She has also supported and generously provided her students’ work for many Corridor Gallery shows over the years. Recently, she stepped in to a crucial role as department recruiter and has brought many creative and pragmatic practices to the position. Her colleague in this enterprise, Hallie Cohen, says, “Julia is extraordinarily committed to our students and program.” And, her students confirm her teaching excellence, Haley Gould said “Prof. Gran is very easy to work with, she is accepting of different styles and teaches students to understand concepts and not simply copy.”  Madeline Benitez exclaimed, “Awesome!” and Zuleika Rymer concurred saying, “she teaches really well and makes the complex curriculum easy to understand.”  We all agree, faculty, colleagues, and art students, that Professor Gran is very deserving of this MMC distinction and award. 

Margaret “Maggie” Hames, Communication & Media Arts
Students often rave about their amazing professor, Maggie Hames. In terms of her commitment to student success, Prof. Hames is always willing and able to meet with students outside of class. She regularly has students participate in the CMA Showcase and has even sponsored the Dean’s Award recipient at Honor’s Day.  We are proud to select Prof. Hames as our first Part-Time Faculty Teaching Award recipient.

Lone Larson, Dance
Lone has been a member of the MMC Department of Dance since 1997 with a brief hiatus to live and teach in Denmark, her country of origin. Throughout this tenure, the poetry and precision of her teaching has inspired countless students to love both the artistry and discipline of the Graham technique. She takes an active interest in the student’s well-being both in and outside of the studio. She is attentive to all of the things students’ bodies are expressing in class, and she works in close collaboration with the other faculty to meet each student where they are and to give them the support they need. She attends every performance to show her on-going support for the students’ work. As a long-time teacher at the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance, Lone also provides scholarships to MMC students to the Graham School’s winter and summer intensives, helping them to bridge their studies at MMC with the professional dance world. Lone is a compassionate teacher, a passionate artist, and a remarkable asset to MMC’s Dance Department. We are thrilled to honor her tireless work with this award.

Chris Neher, Theatre
Adjunct Professor Christopher Neher has been a vital member of the theatre faculty for the past nineteen years. Prof. Neher teaches Voice and Speech for the Actor and Dialects for the Stage. He frequently serves as the text/dialect coach for main-stage TPW productions, conducts the Speech Help Room, and team-teaches with acting faculty in Acting III.  Prof. Neher continues to earn kudos from both faculty and students for his depth of knowledge in his area of expertise, his ability to address individual needs of the students, collaborate with the voice and speech faculty, acting faculty, and directors in studio work and on productions. We are deeply grateful for the outstanding contribution Christopher Neher has made to the theatre department and MMC these past nineteen years…and counting!

Richard Sheldon, Business
Richard began teaching for the business division in fall 2013 and has since taught Bus 321 Business and Society online every semester, including the summer and January sessions. Richard helped build interest in Bus 321 (the enrollment speaks for itself) and in online courses, by offering the online AIP option for  many a graduating student.   Since 2013, Richard has been generous in opening up his online class to other faculty, and both full-time and part-time faculty have gained much from observing his online class. The business division owes Richard a debt of gratitude for his willingness to share his approach to online teaching and learning. Since fall 2016, Richard also taught IT 330 (Business Management and Information Technology) in fall and spring.  Once again, he has been a thorough professional who is open to discussing the course with division colleagues and gathering data for assessment.  On behalf of the business division—many, many thanks to you, Richard!

Henry Solomon, Psychology
Dr. Henry Solomon has taught at MMC for 19 years.  Students in Dr. Solomon’s classes not only have the opportunity to benefit from the wisdom of a great, who lived through and conducted research with many of the world’s most renowned psychologists, but they have the great honor of benefiting from his intelligence, warmth, dedication, and unparalleled humor.