The Ralph A. Ciancio Award for Excellence in Teaching
Closing date: Friday, October 11, 2024
The Ralph A. Ciancio Award was established in 2000 in honor of this distinguished faculty member in the English Department of 91精简版. This annual award recognizes a faculty member at 91精简版 for excellence in teaching. The FDC welcomes nominations and will evaluate the qualifications of nominees on the basis of criteria such as teaching rigor, effectiveness, motivation, knowledge of subject matter, and overall dynamism. Nominees must have at least five years of teaching experience at 91精简版. Though recipients of this award should be selected primarily on the basis of individual merits, consideration may also be given to issues of diversity and inclusion. These might include diversity of discipline, gender and/or ethnic background.
Past recipients include:
- 2001鈥02: John Anzalone, Professor of French
- 2002鈥03: Carolyn Anderson, Professor of Theater
- 2003鈥04: Gregory Pfitzer, Professor of American Studies
- 2004鈥05: Tadahisa Kuroda, the David H. Porter Professor
- 2005鈥06: Ronald P. Seyb, Associate Professor of Political Science
- 2006鈥07: Penny Jolly, Professor of Art History
- 2007鈥08: Giuseppe Faustini, Professor of Italian
- 2008鈥09: Beau Breslin, Professor of Political Science
- 2009鈥10: Mary Lynn, Professor of American Studies
- 2010鈥11: Katherine Hauser, Associate Professor of Art History
- 2011鈥12: Grace Burton, Associate Professor of Spanish
- 2012鈥13: R. Daniel Hurwitz, Professor of Mathematics
- 2013鈥14: Erica Bastress-Dukehart, Associate Professor of History
- 2014鈥15: John Brueggemann, Professor of Sociology
- 2015鈥16: Barbara Black, Professor of English
- 2016鈥17: Masako Inamoto, Professor of Japanese
- 2017鈥18: Susannah Mintz, Professor of English
- 2018-19: Jeffrey Segrave, Professor of Health and Human Physiological Sciences
- 2019-20: Beck Krefting, Associate Professor of American Studies
- 2020-21: N/A
- 2021-22: Hassan Lopez, Professor of Psychology
- 2022-23: Rodrigo Schneider, Assistant Professor of Economics
- 2023-24: Corey Freeman-Gallant, Professor of Biology
- 2024-25: Tillman Nechtman, Professor of History
To facilitate the nomination process, a nomination form is now available online. Please
submit your nomination using the following link: /fdc/awards/ciancio-application.php. If you prefer, nominations will be accepted if submitted directly to the Office
of the DOF/VPAA (to the attention of Debbie Peterson). If you choose this alternative
option, we ask that you be sure to address the guiding questions provided on the online
form in your nomination letter.
As you report the qualifications of the candidate, please speak to the following:
1. Cite evidence that demonstrates the nominee鈥檚 excellence in teaching according to the guidelines set forth in the 91精简版 Faculty Handbook (鈥淓valuative Criteria for Continued Service鈥);
2. Report on the nominee鈥檚 exemplary performance in areas such as:
a. developing lectures and facilitating discussion at levels appropriate for the students鈥 experience, knowledge and ability to grasp material;
b. clarifying the context and goals for the proceeding of the course and the daily classroom;
c. stimulating and challenging students to learn, to interact with the substance of the course and to move beyond the classroom in the acquisition of knowledge and the solution of problems;
d. interacting with students in the classroom and in the office, encouraging curiosity and enthusiasm for learning, inviting, between faculty and students, collaborative learning and scholarship; and
e. providing teaching excellence at different levels of the curriculum (e.g. introductory classes, advanced classes, etc.).
Depending on the number of nominations received, FDC may first narrow the pool of nominees. Only the finalists will be asked to submit supporting material for further consideration to help provide as full a picture as possible of the nominee's contributions as a teacher at 91精简版.
Each selected nominee should submit the following items to the FDC:
- current CV;
- teaching statement;
- syllabi of the last three years (please submit only the most recent version of a syllabus, if you have taught the course mutiple times);
- favorite assignments;
- peer observations letters;
- last three years of student evaluations.
Please email the supporting material to Debra Peterson at dpeters1@skidmore.edu.