Dawn Smith Sherwood, Brandon Galm, Kim Weiner, Alison Downie, Jeff Raykes, and Kristy Chunta
Winners of the 2016 Center for Teaching Excellence Faculty Recognition Awards were honored on Wednesday, April 27, during a banquet at the Rustic Lodge in Indiana, Pa.
Dawn Smith-Sherwood
Foreign Languages (Spanish)
College of Humanities and Social Sciences
Award Category: Living Learning
Dr. Smith-Sherwood expands the boundaries of the classroom as a Living-Learning liaison. She designed and implemented a transformation of Wallwork Hall's public spaces to reflect a Global Awareness Community, inviting residents and the entire campus into cultural exchange. She also cofacilitated numerous programs with student community assistants, utilized a mini-grant to support the Cultural Expansion Book Club initiative, led book and film discussions, and continually explores new, innovative cultural programming to foster a community of learners.
Mr. Jeff Raykes
Geography and Regional Planning
College of Humanities and Social Sciences
Award Category: Heiges-Lamberski Award for Exemplary Commitment to Experiential Education
Mr. Raykes designed the course Community Participation and Civic Engagement for students to learn from each other with open, collaborative discussions, experiential learning, and reflection. He leads students to understand the diverse, dynamic, and complex roles of community planners. He also guides them to take on difficult questions and extend their thinking about failures, successes, and alternative approaches.
Dr. Alison J. Downie
Religious Studies
College of Humanities and Social Sciences
Award Category: Content Pedagogy
Downie challenges students to see through the eyes of others, critically examine their own assumptions and perspectives, and develop intellectual empathy. Her transformational learning approach navigates a balance to provide students opportunities to become self-aware and respects their choice to engage in the complexity of religious beliefs, practices, and lifestyles across major traditions studied.
Dr. Kristy Chunta
Nursing and Allied Health Professions
College of Health and Human Services
Award Category: Innovation
Chunta integrated Ebola virus preparedness training into nursing curricula focusing on isolation and safety precautions to provide students education on appropriate infection control measures. She created an Ebola simulation for students to provide care they could not receive in a clinical setting to help them prepare for safe practices in their future nursing careers.
Dr. Kim Weiner
Counseling
The Center for Health and Well Being
Award Category: Living-Learning
Weiner helped implement mindfulness and contemplative practices into the IUP Living Learning Community to enhance the capacity for students to better regulate stress and anxiety that interfere with learning and provide students tools for deeper learning. As coordinator and liaison, she helped bring together the leaders of the Mindfulness Living Learning Community, which has 12 faculty, six staff, and five graduate student mentors.
Mr. Brandon Galm
English
College of Humanities and Social Sciences
Award Category: Teaching Associate
Galm utilizes literature and writing to engage students in thinking about controversial social, environmental, and political issues to help students confront societal aspects to make positive change in the world. He also involves students in service projects and building community to work together in larger groups to help develop skills for their future careers.