Summer faculty honored for excellence

Chris Richards Arizona Daily Wildcat Jerry Williams, graduate teaching assistant in the UA English Department, speaks about his initial fear of standing up before a class, after receiving Excellence in Teaching honorable mention yesterday. A poet and writer, Williams was one of four teachers on campus recognized for their outstanding work with students by the Office of Summer Session.

Paul Ivey, a University of Arizona art department associate professor, and Judith Moreillon, an adjunct professor in the School of Information and Library Science, won top honors at the awards ceremony, held in the Rincon Room of the Memorial Student Union.

"This is a tribute to all the fabulous teachers I had in the past," Ivey said.

English Department associate professor Susan White and Jerry Williams, an English department graduate assistant, received honorable mention awards.

Each of the recipients were presented with a plaque and certificate, while Ivey and Moreillon also received a tax-free check for $500.

Ivey added he really enjoys teaching the summer session.

"I love the summer session because of the time concentration," he said. "You live with your topic every day in a very different way than you do during the regular school year."

White was pleased not only with her award but also with her classes.

"I enjoyed it just about as much as I've enjoyed anything," she said. "That's the secret to being a successful teacher."

The award recipients are chosen each year based on nominations received from students and some faculty members during the summer session, said Anne Fillmore, coordinator of the selection committee.

"It is very difficult to pick just four," Fillmore said.

"They're all so wonderful," she said. "I was impressed with all of them so much."

More than 100 teachers were nominated this year, Fillmore added.

Students may nominate their favorite teachers each year through the end of August, she said. Nomination forms are printed in the Schedule of Classes at the beginning of the term.

The selection committee takes a few weeks to study the nominations before they meet at the end of September to choose four recipients, Fillmore said.

"It was amazing," she said. "This year everybody picked the same four people."