UCS honors four professors with teaching awards

Julio Ortega, Barbara Tannenbaum, John Tomasi and Matthew Zimmt are this year's recipients.

by Tracie Sweeney

A passion for what they teach and whom they teach are the common denominators of the four faculty members selected by the Brown student body to receive this year's Award for Teaching Excellence from the Undergraduate Council of Students (UCS).

Julio Ortega, professor of Hispanic studies; Barbara Tannenbaum, senior lecturer in theater, speech and dance; John Tomasi, associate professor of political science; and Matthew Zimmt, professor of chemistry, each received a plaque at an award dinner held in their honor Dec. 3. (Ortega was unable to attend.)

The UCS created the award to honor faculty members "who most epitomize the values of a Brown education, emphasizing learning for learning's sake, displaying an outstanding ability to communicate with students, and possessing not only a sound knowledge of their field but extending a passion for the exploration of that field to their students."

The Academics and Administrative Affairs Committee of the UCS created the award in 2003 to fill what the committee believed to be a need for awards that emphasized "the teaching aspects of being a professor," said Emily Blatter '07, who serves on the committee.

What makes a professor stand out? Several students who nominated this year's award recipients were more than happy to relate.

Lissette Jimenez was among the students who nominated Zimmt (left). Jimenez struggled with the bear of every medical school hopeful - organic chemistry. "I was so overwhelmed by the pressure that I dropped the class, quit the lab, and vowed never to take chemistry or any other pre-med class again," she said. But she regrouped, changed her focus and vowed to conquer the course. Zimmt was her professor this time around. "I never expected that I would be in the position to say that I feel confident about the class and that I actually understand the material, but I am," she said at the dinner. "I can only attribute my confidence and understanding ... to Professor Zimmt's excellent teaching."

Jimenez also cited Zimmt's clear presentation of the material and his knowledge of each student's name in a class of about 200. "In my experience as a pre-med student who has taken large lecture science classes, I have always felt like an invisible person, another face in the crowd, but this is not the case in Professor ZimmtÕs class," she said.

What impressed her most, however, is that Zimmt added an extra two-hour problem session Monday evenings to accommodate students' needs, and often stayed beyond the stated 9:30 p.m. ending time. "In my opinion, Professor Zimmt's simple act of staying for an extra two hours to help his students speaks volumes about his immense level of dedication to both his students and to the art of teaching," she said.

Tannenbaum (left), too, was cited for her dedication to students. "Her drive to make her class as beneficial as possible is evidenced by the time and energy she devotes to each of her students," said undergraduate Katharine Glynn. Her dedication to ensure that each student becomes an effective public speaker "is visible in her willingness to spend time working with students one on one outside of the regular class period - whether it be to practice an upcoming speech, brainstorm ideas for a speech, or even to prepare for a job interview," added Gloria Oliver, also an undergraduate.

That Tomasi (left) "knows his material well and knows how to teach it well" is only a small part of the reason Leah Berk, a comparative literature concentrator, nominated him for the award. "I really like him for three reasons: because he's sassy, because he is funny, and because he is a kind person."

A Berk example of Tomasi's sass: During one lecture, he told the class: "You're all brainwashed. ... You all think alike, you all end up thinking the same thing. I want you to read different books and hear different ideas and take seriously Brown's idea of intellectual diversitiy."

He "takes us out of our comfort zone and jostles our world a little bit," Berk said. "He's one of best lecturers I've ever had - and I'm a senior."

A Berk example of Tomasi's caring: On the day papers are due, Tomasi sits near the class delivery boxes "and asks each student how it went and opens students up and makes them feel less insecure."

Last year's winners were Josef Mittlemann, adjunct lecturer in engineering; Catherine Imbriglio, lecturer in English; John Stein, assistant professor of neuroscience (research); and Jacob Appel, adjunct assistant professor of community health.