Dr. Carolyn Behrman, associate professor of anthropology and Dr. Lance Svehla, associate professor of English, have been named Outstanding Teachers for 2011.
Behrman dedicated to student success
For more than a decade, Behrman has been recognized as a leader on campus and in Ohio in the development of Community-Based Research and Service-Learning (CBRSL). She has earned nine internal and several external grants to support the development of three highly-innovative CBRSL courses, including a 2007 NSF grant of $150,000 to create and now co-direct the Active Research Methods Project and Lab. In addition to CBRSL, Behrman's research interests include urbanization, urban education, the intersections of gender, health and poverty, as well as research methods.
Colleagues recognize her student-centered classes, which provide opportunities for students to explore new ideas, discover the answers to questions, and work with peers and a faculty mentor to develop into graduates who are prepared to succeed and contribute to their communities.
Svehla motivates students
Svehla has taught both regular and Honors sections of English composition courses, and an Honors colloquium, in addition to a range of upper division and graduate courses within the Department of English. He has led graduate independent studies classes and directed or served as a second reader for 14 M.A. theses and served on dissertation committees for students pursuing degrees in English education. His teaching skills are respected by his students as well as his peers; Svehla's consistently high IDEA evaluations and the students' letters in support of this award define how he goes above-and-beyond for his students.
Also known for his mentoring skills, Svehla's continued attention to becoming a better teacher is exemplary. Further, he has been successful in securing more than $270,000 in Early English Composition Assessment Programs Grants and Ohio WINS Grants from the Ohio Board of Regents.