Lindback, Provost awards announced

For ten professors, teaching has become an especially rewarding experience. These professors, whose names were announced at yesterday's University Council meeting, are the 1991 recipients of the Lindback and Provost Awards for Distinguished Teaching. Each of the professors will receive a $1,000 prize along with the recognition of being one of the University's top teachers. Lindback and Provost Award winners were nominated last fall by students and faculty, and selected this spring by committees composed of past Lindback winners and students. Four awards are given to professors in health schools, while four are awarded to faculty in the non-health schools. For the non-health schools, Associate Music Professor Norman Smith, Mathematics Professor Dennis DeTurck, Chemistry Professor Madeleine Joullie and Physics Professor Fay Ajzenberg-Selove received Lindbacks, the University's most prestigious teaching award. Lindback winners in the health schools were Associate Psychiatry Professor Gary Gottlieb, Associate Nursing Professor Lois Evans, Assistant Veterinary Medicine Professor Raymond Sweeney and Assistant Neurology Professor Steven Galetta won awards. According to Executive Assistant to the Vice Provost for University Life Therese Conn -- whose office coordinates the award process -- committees in both the health and non-health schools judge nominees using comprehensive dossiers including recommendation letters, resumes, and course evaluations. "We had a strong pool in both areas," Conn said. "The committees had a difficult time in making their final decisions. All of the candidates were certainly qualified, so then it was a matter of looking at the dossiers." Provost Awards for Distinguished Teaching, intended for University teachers who are not part of the standing faculty, were awarded in the health schools to Dental Medicine Clinical Professor Arnold Weisgold and in the non-health schools to Urban Studies Assistant Director Elaine Simon. The final decision on award recipients was made at the provost's staff conference last Thursday. Deputy Provost Richard Clelland received the honor of calling Lindback and Provost Award winners late last week, since Provost Michael Aiken is currently in France. "It's a very pleasant set of phone calls to have the privilege of making, really," he said last night. Clelland said winners he called were both surprised and pleased -- and that some recipients seemed so surprised that he suspected they had not even known they were nominated. Associate Music Professor Smith said he knew he had been nominated, but added that he was still extremely surprised and happy to learn he had won the award. "I've been teaching here 30 years," said Smith. "Teaching has always been an absolute love of mine. It's always nice to have some formal recognition for it." Smith said members of his department threw a party for him yesterday afternoon to commemorate the Lindback. He said he is also looking forward to the reception for Lindback and Provost Award winners being held on April 25. Urban Studies Assistant Director Simon did not know she had been nominated for the Provost's Award until she was notified she had won, although she said she grew increasingly suspicious as several students began expressing hopes she would win. "It was very thrilling to have won this," Simon said yesterday. "I hope I deserve it." Simon added that teaching in the Urban Studies department has been rewarding in itself because it allows her to relate better with the students she advises. For this year's Lindback awards, there were 17 nominees in the non-health schools and 7 within the health schools. There were 5 nominees for this year's Provost Awards.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.