Honoring faculty achievements
With representation from the families who provided funding for the prestigious faculty awards, Drs. David Kimmel, John Owen and Henry Rennie received the top honors during a dinner with Board of Trustees members last weekend.
English professor Kimmel is the recipient of the 2007-09 Jane Frost Kalnow Professorship in the Humanities. Trustee Andrew Kalnow, Jane’s son, presented the award, telling the faculty members that his family understood the importance of recognizing the quality of education that takes place within the walls of classroom buildings when they created the award. Kimmel echoed those sentiments. “This gift is very important for this college. It’s not the bricks and mortarthat will make this college great in the next century. It’s the faculty,” he said.
“What’s important is the teaching and the interaction with our students.” He also had a special message for his faculty colleagues: “Keep the faith,” he said. “Every student we work with has potential and we can bring it out in them.” He has been a member of the faculty for 10 years.
Speaking of teaching, the recipient of the Ream-Paradiso Distinguished Teaching Award, presented by Trustee Tony Paradiso, is music professor Owen, a member of the faculty for 30 years. Speaking about the significance of the award, Paradiso told the faculty, on behalf of the trustees, “We get it. The students and faculty are No. 1. We really appreciate what you do in the classroom and the extra things you do to keep this college moving forward.”
The teaching award recipient is selected by peers. Owen was honored for his teaching effectiveness, professional development activities, mentorship to students and service to the college. As a teacher, he said, he has “the best job in the world.” Why? Because at the end of the day, it’s rewarding to know that teachers have made a difference in someone’s life.
In accepting the Distinguished Scholarship/Research Award for Faculty, Rennie, professor of business administration and economics, spoke of the scholarship that can be learned and the competitive advantage that can be gained through entrepreneurship, which he termed “the ultimate liberal art.” Entrepreneurship, he said, can be a creative venture and should stretch across all academic disciplines. Rennie joined the faculty in 1992.
Posted on Feb. 13, 2008