Distinguished Teaching Award Winners Honored

Winners: Paul J. Bertics Christopher Coe Charles L. Cohen Nancy L. Diekelmann Loyal Durand Stuart Greene Sally Sieloff Magnan Karen S. Ryker J.C. Sprott

The influence of a master teacher is often lasting and profound, almost impossible to overestimate: Notice the regularity with which people mention a favorite teacher when asked about their school days.

Consequently, UW–Madison every year chooses a select group of faculty who have distinguished themselves in the classroom … and beyond. This year’s winners range from assistant professors to veterans, in disciplines ranging from chemistry to theater, history to nursing, English to physics.

Each Distinguished Teaching Award recipient receives a cash award. The winners were honored at a ceremony (April 29) in the Elvehjem Museum of Art.

Paul J. Bertics
Professor of Biomolecular Chemistry
Chancellor’s Award

There is no praise too high for Paul Bertics, according to his colleague Lawrence Kahan.

“Paul is not merely a good, or even excellent, teacher,” Kahan says. “He is phenomenal — the best teacher I have encountered at this university in 27 years.”

Kahan says Bertics’ pedagogical technique rests upon the paradox of inspiring his students to love working very hard to learn a large quantity of difficult material. Teaching classes that range from Introductory Chemistry to Comprehensive Human Biochemistry, Bertics’ students consistently rate him high in dimensions as varied as communication skills, expertise in his subject, willingness to work one-on-one with students and more.

One of Bertics’ fans, first-year medical student David Bleidorn, encountered Bertics after Bleidorn’s freshman year, during a Medical Scholars Summer Research Program project.

“What impressed me first about Paul was the fact that he would accept a student at my level,” Bleidorn recalls. “While Paul is more accustomed to teaching medical and graduate students, at the time I had not even taken a college-level biology course. Nevertheless, that summer he spent hours giving me a private ‘crash course’ in human biochemistry. He was totally determined to make my summer project a success and to teach me as much as possible about biochemistry research.”

Bertics, a native of Carlsbad, Calif., earned his B.S. at the University of California-Los Angeles and his Ph.D. at UW–Madison. He has been on the faculty since 1986.

Christopher Coe
Professor of Psychology
Chancellor’s Award

For his course, Animal Behavior: The Primates, Christopher Coe developed a library of unique audiovisual materials. In the cache were hundreds of personal photographs and illustrations of exotic primates from around the world. According to psychology department chair H. Hill Goldsmith, the course inspired the Primate Library at the Wisconsin Regional Primate Research Center to set up a similar instructional collection.

Coe typically has the same lasting effect on his students, often providing them with unique research opportunities. Teresa M. Reyes says her undergraduate honors work with Coe led directly to her decision to continue her studies on the graduate level at UW–Madison.

“One of Dr. Coe’s unique qualities is his ability to make topics ‘come to life.’ Describing the historical context of topics — the scientists who made the discoveries as well as the scientific atmosphere of the time — gives students a framework in which to place new material,” she says.

Coe excites similar enthusiasm among his colleagues. Keith R. Kluender, associate chair of the department and its undergraduate studies director, knows firsthand how effective Coe is in the classroom.

“One of my favorite lectures of his is one that he presents to students on psychoimmunology. The material is as demanding as the topic implies. Yet, he has students spellbound, thinking about how one must consider the whole organism in thinking about behavior, as he weaves the account of how stress and other psychological processes can have profound influences on the immune system,” Kluender says. “There are those who speak of some tension between first-rate research and undergraduate teaching. They would be silenced if ever they witnessed a single lecture by Professor Coe.”

Originally from New York and on the faculty here since 1985, Coe earned his B.A. at City College of New York and his Ph.D. at State University of New York-Downstate Medical Center.

Charles L. Cohen
Associate Professor of History
Steiger Award

The history students’ honor society, Phi Alpha Theta, and the UW–Madison Department of History came to independent consensus regarding Charles Cohen’s selection as a Distinguished Teaching Award winner.

From the students’ perspective, his success as a teacher rests on a combination of rigor and humor, the latter often in the form of puns, according to Shane Hamilton, Phi Alpha Theta president.

Meanwhile, history department chair James Donnelly says Cohen was one of the first professors to incorporate electronic communication into his classes. “He requires his students to have email accounts, sets up a class email list and encourages students to avail themselves of this opportunity to communicate not only with himself but also with their peers,” Donnelly says.

Donnelly adds that Cohen emphasizes written communication, regardless of whether exchanges take place electronically or on paper. Bradley Hughes, director of the UW–Madison Writing Center, commends Cohen’s appreciation for the written word:

“Writing becomes a primary means by which students learn history and learn to think like historians,” Hughes says. “Professor Cohen has been a pioneer in his commitment to writing-intensive courses, anticipating by years the university’s recent emphasis on writing and the development of writing-intensive courses in [the College of Letters & Science].”

On the faculty here since 1984 and specializing in American history before 1800, Cohen hails from New York City. His Ph.D. is from the University of California-Berkeley; he earned his B.A. at Yale.

Nancy L. Diekelmann
Helen Denne Schulte Professor of Nursing
Chancellor’s Award

Described as a teacher who routinely challenges standard pedagogical practices, Nancy Diekelmann has shared her knowledge and educational research philosophies with New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, the Figi Islands, Germany, France and Italy as well as with her students in Madison.

The University Teaching Academy’s first chair, Diekelmann also leads the profession of nursing in recognizing and rewarding nursing education, according to Vivian M. Littlefield, dean of the School of Nursing.

Diekelmann’s own research feeds directly into her teaching. Says Littlefield, “She loves to teach and since her research is focused on teaching, she readily accepts assignments on a variety of levels and in many formats.”

Her students agree that Diekelmann views life as an uninterrupted experience of learning. “She not only presented us with the required course material, but also bolstered our confidence and desire to step forward and learn more,” concur Geralyn Summerbell and Valerie Pyne.

From the Department of Chemistry, James W. Taylor, current chair of the Teaching Academy, notes that Diekelmann’s stylistic flexibility sets her apart pedagogically and also helped the fledgling academy develop into a bastion of teaching excellence. In addition, Taylor applauds Diekelmann’s leadership in assisting new professors in organizing lesson material, developing good learning practices, understanding what motivates students and more.

Diekelmann, born in Chicago, is a UW–Madison alumna, earning her Ph.D. from the Department of Continuing and Vocational Education. Her M.S. is from Saint Xavier College; her B.S. is from Northern Illinois University. She has been on the nursing faculty since 1974.

Loyal Durand
Professor of Physics
Chancellor’s Award

Whether the student is wading into introductory physics or plumbing the scientific depths of quantum mechanics, particle physics or superstrings, an advocate for the task is assured in Loyal Durand.

A faculty member in the Department of Physics since 1965, Durand consistently has been one of the department’s two highest-ranked teachers. According to James E. Lawler, chair of the physics department, Durand earned his reputation through characteristic versatility, clarity, creativity, fairness, care and accessibility.

Former student Eric Charles, who took Durand’s Advanced Classical Theoretical Physics and Statistical Mechanics courses, recalls that the problems in those classes were most memorable. “Graduate students here spend hours telling each other about those problem sets. First of all, the problems were extremely difficult. Second, many of the problems were open-ended; they served as a sort of jumping-off point for further study. Third, the problems were practical,” Charles says.

He adds, however, that the best aspect was that the exercises were interesting. “They covered a huge range of topics, from particle physics to condensed matter to cosmology, and pretty much everything in between. It was extremely gratifying to have direct examples of the power and applicability of the methods we were learning,” Charles says.

A member of the UW–Madison Teaching Academy since 1996, Durand, a Madison native, received his Ph.D., M.S. and B.S. from Yale University.

Stuart Greene
Associate Professor of English
Wisconsin Center for Education Research
Kiekhofer Award

Basing his composition classes around his students and what they have to say is a crucial clue to Stuart Greene’s teaching excellence, according to his department chair Donald Rowe.

But that’s not all: “Stuart Greene’s claim on a teaching award stems not only from his excellence as a classroom teacher, but also from the energy, the knowledge and the good sense he brings to his classes,” Rowe says.

According to colleague and fellow Distinguished Teaching Award winner Dale Bauer (1996), Greene considers his students partners in the learning endeavor. His revision, under a Lilly Fellowship, of the basic composition courses reflects this educational style, she says.

UW–Madison’s newest Rhodes Scholar, Aaron Olver, was introduced to Greene in class and deepened the acquaintance through their mutual volunteer efforts for the Madison Urban League. There, Olver taught at-risk 13-year-olds math and Greene, writing. Olver recalls one of Greene’s students proceeded to win a Most Improved Award. “This example is powerful not only because it is a testament to his teaching ability, but also because it demonstrates his commitment to teaching as service in the spirit of the Wisconsin Idea,” Olver says.

Greene joined the UW–Madison faculty in 1990. Growing up New York, he earned his Ph.D. from Carnegie-Mellon, his M.A. and B.A. from State University of New York-Binghamton.

Sally Sieloff Magnan
Professor of French
Chancellor’s Award

Not only does Sally Magnan enjoy a reputation for being a superb teacher, she is known statewide as a teacher’s teacher. Literally: Although her main role on campus is to teach French language courses and supervise teaching assistants in those classrooms, she also has taught 10 different courses for high school teachers of French.

Last year the Wisconsin Association of Foreign Language Teachers honored Magnan with the Outstanding Foreign Language Educator Award. The selection panel had good reasons, says Conni Hofeldt, who teaches French at Middleton High School. Hofeldt is a veteran of Magnan’s advanced methodology courses for teachers of foreign languages.

“The courses have been extremely helpful in keeping me current, in helping me learn new strategies for my students, in helping me network with my colleagues throughout the state, and in offering opportunities to share ideas and materials with other teachers,” Hofeldt says.

What keeps Magnan current herself is her own research on the acquisition of second languages. In addition to her articles, she has edited the prestigious Modern Language Journal since 1994 and is the co-author of two textbooks.

A native of Farmington Hills, Mich., Magnan took her place on the faculty here in 1981. Her Ph.D. is from the University of Indiana-Bloomington. Her M.A. and B.S. are from Michigan State University-East Lansing.

Karen S. Ryker
Assistant Professor of Theatre and Drama
Chancellor’s Award

Regardless of her students’ level of expertise or major, Karen Ryker makes it her business to leave them with the belief that the time they have spent with her has been most worthwhile.

A member of faculty since 1991, Ryker teaches Shakespearean classes and is a master voice coach. In fact, her current research is exploring which methods of employing stage “violence” — screaming, shouting, falsetto-ing — can make things easier on professional vocal chords.

In true Wisconsin Idea tradition, Ryker spreads her services and expertise among interested parties off campus as well as on. For example, CLASSACT, begun with associate professor of English Susanne Wofford in 1994, has staged scenes from the theatrical masters for classes across the university curriculum. This spring, the program’s student actors took their readings on the road, visiting Madison’s East and Edgewood High Schools.

Another of Ryker’s pedagogical missions is to expose students — as well as faculty, staff and members of the general public — to the full range of the theatrical experience. In 1995, for instance, she helped make arrangements for a residency visit by MacArthur “Genius” Award-winning performance artist Meredith Monk. Participants, including Monk herself, point to the residency as an example of multidisciplinary education, coalescing faculty, staff and student members of arts programs on campus and beyond.

Ryker’s Air Force family lived all over the United States and in several other countries. She earned her M.F.A. at Brandeis University, her M.A. at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and her B.A. at Clarke College in Dubuque.

J.C. Sprott
Professor of Physics
Van Hise Outreach Award

Only those completely unacquainted with Clint Sprott’s “Wonders of Physics” presentation would fail to understand its title. Over the past 13 years, Sprott has brought his lecture/demonstration to a nationwide audience of more than 60,000. According to James E. Lawler, chair of the Department of Physics, the voracious demand for tickets prompted the production of 14 hours of video sold to the public and aired regularly on television programs across the country.

In many cases, early attendance at one of Sprott’s presentations has precipitated a lifelong love of his subject. David J. Albers, currently a UW–Madison physics major, saw “The Wonders of Physics” in first grade.

“Previously, I had no particular scientific persuasion and had no real understanding or awareness of the world around me,” he says. “‘The Wonders of Physics’ helped me remove the mindset that the world was just magic, implanting a cause-and-effect outlook I still carry today.”

However, Sprott does not limit his efforts to children. David E. Newman, staff scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, also has been impressed by Sprott’s presentations. “I have seen the need for science outreach grow and have come to realize how rare Professor Sprott’s commitment truly is. At a number of meetings, I have had the pleasure of watching him expound on the importance of outreach to some of the most senior scientists in our field to great effect,” Newman says.

With a research specialty in plasma physics and nonlinear dynamics, Sprott also teaches more traditional classes in General Physics, Chaos and Time Series Analysis and more. Originally from Memphis, Tenn., Sprott earned his Ph.D. and M.S. from UW and his B.S. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has been a member of the faculty since 1973.