Rate Your Professors

Nominations for the 2009 Presidential Awards for Outstanding Teaching are due next week. Amid shopping for classes and beginning a new semester, it is easy to overlook administrative e-mails from University President Lee Bollinger’s office. But while students may be preoccupied with their classes, we should take time to heed the administration’s request for instructor nominations for the 2009 Presidential Awards for Outstanding Teaching.

President Bollinger annually bestows exceptional graduate student teachers and faculty members with awards that acknowledge their superior teaching skills. These are ultimately decided by a committee of professors, but the committee bases a significant portion of its decisions on student nominations. To nominate teachers, students must submit statements describing how the nominee, through his or her teaching, bettered the students’ educations and impacted their lives. There are few specific criteria for the nomination, allowing for individuals with diverse teaching styles, influences, and contributions to receive equal consideration. While extra writing assignments are seldom welcomed by students, contributing to the nomination process is an important way to give back to the teachers who have had profound effects on their students.

Graduate student teaching awards should be of particular note as students consider which instructors to nominate. These student teachers are too often overlooked in favor of the renowned professors associated with popular classes. However, in their close interaction with students in seminars or recitations, graduate students often have a larger opportunity to build strong relationships and provide more assistance than professors who teach large lectures. And, as all students are aware, formal recognition is particularly beneficial for postdoctoral applications. Whether for graduate student teachers or professors, nominations for the awards are not simply writing assignments—they provide the chance to show appreciation for those teachers who have gone the extra mile, as well as opportunities for students to reflect on the excellent teachers they have had.

Students are often quick to complain about professors and teaching assistants they do not like. While it takes slightly more thought and effort to write about those teachers who have truly made a difference, this positive feedback is more valuable. For the University’s instructors, both professors and graduate students, these nominations are incredibly important and can make a statement that this University continues to value high-quality teaching.