College Academic Council Honors Professors
April 1, 2011
On March 18, students and faculty mingled in Copley Formal Lounge for the College Academic Council’s fifth annual College Honors, an event celebrating professors who have reached beyond the classroom and meaningfully shaped the experiences of their undergraduate students.
The College Honors (formerly the Faculty Student Banquet) is an annual reception and award ceremony honoring faculty in Georgetown College who have, by a student vote, demonstrated an outstanding commitment to undergraduate teaching. The College Academic Council (CAC) hosts the event as an opportunity for students to celebrate those professors who made a difference in their undergraduate education. CAC President Bettina Bergöö (C’11) explained that early in the academic year, the Council calls upon the student body to nominate faculty and administrators who have “gone beyond teaching in the classroom and have shaped the students’ Georgetown experience, not just their academic experience.” The top faculty nominees are invited to the ceremony, which is open to all Georgetown College undergraduates.
The Council, which serves as a liaison between the Dean’s Office and the student body, makes a concerted effort to foster communication between students and the administration. Along with lobbying for new academic programs and disseminating information about the school to students, the College Honors presents one of the best opportunities for the Council to make student voices heard. Erin Curtin Force, an Academic Counselor and the faculty mentor to the CAC, remarked, “We’re always trying to increase faculty-student interaction, so an event like the College Honors drives home how much we value that interaction. The faculty enriches the student experience, and we want to the students to have the opportunity to honor that.”
This year’s event allowed students to thank the faculty and interact with their professors outside of the classroom. Bergöö noted, “I think it is really important that students meet faculty they might not have met” who might become mentors in the future. Abigail Marsh—an Assistant Professor of Psychology who was among the professors in attendance—said that the event is rewarding for faculty. “It shows the faculty that the students really care about teaching,” Marsh explained. She continued, “When we teach well, we do it because we want to,” and suggested that it is heartening to know when students appreciate the effort.
The guest of honor at the reception was Associate Professor of Biology Heidi Elmendorf, who received the most nominations from the student body and was presented with the Georgetown College Academic Council Faculty Award. Many of her students were in the audience as Dean Gillis made his opening remarks, where he acknowledged that strong student involvement lends the Faculty Award its prestige. “If you are chosen for this award, you have been chosen directly by the students,” he emphasized.
Several members of Elmendorf’s Foundations in Biology class said they cast their votes because of her dedication to the students and concentrated effort to make her material memorable. Aarohi Vora (C’14) explained that each semester, “She picks an overall theme and always relates it back, so you are always grounded in one concept.” This year, the students learned about everything from cell division to global health using the infectious bacteria of cholera as a model. In addition to her dynamic teaching for roughly 300 students each semester, Elmendorf makes an effort to know every student in her courses. “She made you want to come to class every day,” Vora said.
As Elmendorf accepted her award, she acknowledged her fellow faculty members and stressed that “there can’t possibly be a single winner of an award like this.” As she reflected on her teaching, she noted, “Our time together here is short, and I need my students to be prepared when they leave Georgetown to meet the immense challenges that lie ahead.” At the same time, she explained that she hoped to help them grow into confident and capable leaders in all areas of society.
As she considered the many changes that her students face during their undergraduate years, she noted that the College Honors is a productive way of helping students take charge of their education. “It’s wonderful that students are encouraged to spend time thinking—in the moment—about what matters to them,” she explained. That reflection, she continued, is an important part of “figuring out who you are.”
--Jessica Beckman
Photos by Kuna Hamad. From top: Faculty and students honor Heidi Elmendorf; CAC President Bettina Bergöö welcomes guests; Elmendorf and colleagues.
