This spring, the University gave voice to Cleveland State undergraduate students, inviting them to participate in a new program recognizing outstanding CSU teachers. The students nominated 50 teachers as the recipients of the most engaging instructors at Cleveland State University. The 50 Engaging Instructors named by students were honored at a luncheon with Provost Geoffrey Mearns on April 23.

“Teachers are the heart as well as intellect of any university,” said Mearns. “Outstanding teachers motivate students to learn, inspire students to develop new goals, and often spend an inordinate amount of time helping students succeed. The 50 outstanding teachers nominated are highly diverse and varied in backgrounds—representing the richness of Cleveland State University.”

The instructors are assistant, associate and full professors, lecturers and adjuncts that teach classes in art, biology, chemistry, computer programming, education, English, foreign language, geology, psychology, physics, religion, physics and theatre. Some of the outstanding teachers are new to CSU; others have been teaching for more than 20 years.

The students nominated faculty and lecturers that teach 100- or 200- level courses. The student nominations received for the program are supported by the Academic Colleges, Academic Deans, the Center for Teaching Excellence and Vice Provosts for Academic Affairs. The nominating students, enrolled in lower division classes, varied in their experiences at CSU from freshmen to seniors enrolled in general education courses.

Students submitted confidential comments about the teacher(s) they nominated and some of these were shared at the luncheon including:

• “Dr.  B. is an amazing teacher. She helped me understand math in a way that nobody has ever done. I used to look forward to going to her class. She goes out of her way to make sure students can make it to office hours and if they can’t, she schedules times to meet up with them. She was genuinely nice, she welcomed everyone with open arms, she’s incredible and I loved having her teach me.
  
• “Professor L. was an outstanding professor! I was okay at writing papers but I wasn't very confident in my work.
  She was always very enthusiastic about helping her students succeed and she gave excellent feedback!  She was always willing to help us – even on the weekends – she would tell us to call her and she would help work out our struggles with our papers. I really enjoyed having her as a professor during my first semester of my freshman year of college!”
• “Dr. G. truly embodied CSU's message ‘engaged learning.’ Even with a large lecture hall filled with 70 students, Dr. G. managed to learn the names of all his students, made himself available to help students with the course, and above all to interest all his students in the field of geology. He frequently spent 30-40 minutes after class – sometimes more – to explain difficult concepts. He even assisted students with other geology courses. It is because of him that I chose to minor in geology.”
• “Dr. Z could teach a dog to speak Chinese. If you can't learn from Dr. Z., you can't learn from anyone. She was able to teach her students so well that two of them were able to compete in a Chinese language competition and scored better than students from Princeton, Brown, and Columbia. In addition to being a dedicated teacher, she takes an interest in your personal life and wants nothing more than for you to be happy. She is encouraging and uplifting; a great teacher and person.”

This year’s Engaging Instructors are:

Dawn Aliberti, Sociology 210
Denise Lynne Brown, Psychology 220
Milenko Budimir, Philosophy 215
Carol Carbary, Math 087
Megan Constantine, Music 241
David Cronin, Geology 100
Lynn Deering, Dance 201
James Denny, Communication 226
Rachael DiFransico, Art 253
Paul Doerder, Biology 200 and 202
Michael Dover, Social Work 201
Peter Dunham, Anthropology 275
Gary R. Dyer, English 241
Katherine Ewing, Latin 102 and 201
Monica Gerrek, Philosophy 240
Glenda Hathaway-Cortner, Education 200
Holly Holsinger, Theatre 225
John Lanning, English 100
Greg LaPlaca, Math 115
David Larson, English 248
Luiz Martins, Math 181
Wendy Mauzy, English 101
Peter Meiksins, Sociology 280
Santosh Mishra, Information Systems Technology 211
Brian Mikelbank, Urban Studies 200
Barbara Modney, Biology, 200
Joseph Mundell, Chemistry 161
Marty Plax, Political Science 111
Edwin Price, English 101
Russ Revock, Art 102
Alan Rosenbaum, Philosophy 211
Jessica Schantz, English 240
Julius Simmons, Social Work 150
Shermila Singham, Chemistry 261
Ivan Soprunov, Math 181H
Stephen Stanziano, Music 231
Kiril A. Streletzky, Philosophy 244H
Stephen Taysom, Religious Studies 101
Abed Tayyara, Arabic 274
David Topor, Psychology 101
Frank Vazzano, Music 161
Lena Vidahl, Japanese 101
Mary Ellen Waithe, Philosophy 255;
Jearl Walker, Physics 24
John Walsh, Math 28
Myrita Wilhite, Speech 232
Qizhi Zhang, Chinese 102 and 201
Emillie Zickel, English 100