Oberlin Alumni Magazine :: Winter 2003-04

Six Oberlin faculty members were recognized as "creative and innovative teachers" by the Northeast Ohio Council of Higher Education (NOCHE), the representative body and professional organization for 21 universities and colleges in northeast Ohio.

The Oberlin professors were among 56 honorees selected from among 9,000 full- and part-time faculty at the region's higher education institutions.

Oberlin's Faculty Council, along with Dean of Arts and Sciences and Vice President of Academic Affairs Clayton Koppes, nominated the Oberlin professors, each of whom has received Oberlin Excellence in Teaching awards. The College issued the following citations to the six when it granted them awards:

• Robert Bosch '85, professor of mathematics, is described by his colleagues as "an absolutely phenomenal teacher," and is noted for his openness, intellectual rigor, organization, and ability to maintain a strong profile in a complex research field.

• William Patrick Day '72, professor of English and cinema studies, is credited for developing Oberlin's new Cinema Studies Program and for bringing a "rich menu" of literary theory, cultural studies, cinema, and contemporary literature into the classroom.

• David Kamitsuka, associate professor of religion, "teaches with a passion for modern religious thought that is matched by the clarity of his intellectual analysis." Kamitsuka was the driving force in starting up and overseeing Oberlin's First-Year Seminar Program, now in its second year.

• Albert Porterfield, associate professor of psychology, is credited for developing the psychophysiology laboratory and incorporating students into his lab work. He's considered by students as a "rigorous and challenging teacher" who constantly incorporates new learning and teaching strategies.

• Janice Thornton, associate professor of neuroscience and biology, directs the College's National Science Foundation Award for the Integration of Research and Education and is a member of Project Kaleidoscope's Faculty for the 21st century, which aims to transform science and math education. She is recognized by students for conveying not just the "nitty-gritty" of neuroscience, but the big picture as well.

• Steven Volk, professor of history, was honored also with the American Historical Association's prestigious Nancy Lyman Roelker Mentorship Award. He is noted for his teaching of Latin American history and earned a National Endowment for the Humanities grant to conduct a seminar for high school teachers on colonialism and British national identity.