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Excellence
in Teaching by Teaching Assistants and Part-Time
and Non-Tenure Track Faculty — 2005
These awards are given in recognition
of outstanding contributions to undergraduate
education.
 Christine
E. Jumpeter
Teaching Assistant Christine E. Jumpeter is
a doctoral candidate in industrial and
organizational psychology. Since January 2003,
she has been an instructor in the Department
of
Psychology, where she is consistently top rated.
Last spring, she won the award for Outstanding
Teaching by a Graduate Student from Psi Chi,
the undergraduate honor society in psychology,
demonstrating the respect she has earned from
undergraduate majors.
An outstanding and passionate teacher, in Fall
2004 she was asked to teach Statistical
Methods in Psychology, a "gateway course" required for majors. Students find
her classes challenging and
rigorous, yet enjoyable. She is dedicated to her students, and regularly extends
her office hours
to meet with them.
As one student noted, "This is by far the best class I have taken in all
my years at the
University. It was very informative and information was presented in a very
clear and
understandable manner. I also felt that Christine was not only very knowledgeable
of the subject
but that she truly cares about her students."
 Paul
V. Morgan, Jr.
Paul V. Morgan, Jr., has taught a variety of
business law courses as an adjunct professor
and
guest lecturer in the School of Business since
1998, incorporating his "real-world" experience
as
an attorney and as the chief clerk of the Rensselaer
County Surrogate's Court. Morgan says his
goal is to present the law to students simply
and directly in a challenging, yet non-threatening,
environment, and to emphasize how the law affects
our daily lives.
Morgan, whose undergraduate courses usually
number more than 200 students per class,
believes that being an instructor involves more than just teaching students
and giving exams. "We are role models," he says. "I try my best
to mentor my students on the importance of
respecting law and order and, no matter what the circumstances, acting in a
mature, dignified
manner."
Morgan continues to mentor former students
long after they have left the University. He
says
they often tell him what a difference his class has made to them. Many have
gone on to become
attorneys and practice law in his own court, and others say he is the reason
they decided to go to
law school.
 Mary
Arensberg Valentis
Mary Arensberg Valentis of the English department
is consistently praised for her
accessibility to students. Students have only
high praise for Valentis's classes and seek her
out
for undergraduate courses, independent study,
a master's exam or dissertation committee. As
Kathleen Thornton, lecturer and director of English
Undergraduate Advisement, noted: "She
represents what is best about our profession:
the ability to inspire students."
Valentis joined UAlbany as a part-time instructor
in 1977, earned her Ph.D. here in 1979,
and became a full-time lecturer in 1985. She is director of the Center for
Humanities, Arts, and
TechnoSciences (CHATS), and was co-founder and, from 1999-2003, co-director,
of
HumaniTech, an interdisciplinary initiative.
Most recently, she collaborated with the University
Libraries this spring on a series of events
focusing on the novel Frankenstein.
She is the author of many books, including
Romantic Intelligence, (2003,
New Harbinger); Brave New
You (2001, New Harbinger);
and Female Rage (with Ann Devane) (1994, Carol Southern books). |
