FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CUAA HONORS TWO PROFESSORS WITH DISTINGUISHED FACULTY AWARD
ANN ARBOR, Mich., May 9, 2007- Two Concordia University–Ann Arbor (CUAA) professors were recently honored for their teaching excellence and campus leadership. The honors were presented at the 2007 Faculty Recognition Dinner on April 10 in CUAA’s Riverside Conference Room.
Those honored were:
The Rev. Charles Schulz, assistant professor of Religion and Pre-Seminary Program director. Schulz was nominated and selected for making a distinctive difference in the teaching climate of the college in the areas of: modeling classroom teaching, campus leadership, pioneering instructional methodology, creative course development and instructional support.
Among his commitments to CUAA, Schulz has re-established the Pre-Seminary Council with solid academic requirements. “He works to provide enrichment opportunities for those in the program, and carefully tracks academic progress and the well being of our students,” stated Robert McCormick, dean of the School of Arts and Sciences. “Under his leadership, pre-deaconess students have come under the umbrella of the Pre-Seminary Program and a track has been established for non-Lutherans who would like to study at Concordia in preparation for further theological training elsewhere.”
In demonstration of his teaching excellence Schulz created an alternative for non-church-work students in Biblical and Religious Studies classes. Additionally, Schulz serves on the Academic Policies Committee, mentors students for delivering messages and leading chapel services, and acts as an academic advisor.
Dr. Amy Bennett, associate professor of Psychology, was nominated for her achievements in research, written publications, public presentations at professional conferences, and professional exhibits.
“Almost everything she has done as a teacher models the use of her past research interests in neuroscience to develop new teaching strategies,” stated Mike Kalmes, division chair, Social Sciences Division, School of Arts and Sciences. Among Bennett’s many accomplishments she has developed and used poster presentation assessments for upper-level psychology classes, conducted Psychology Day presentations for lower-level courses, and integrated biological sciences with psychological study.
Bennett has developed new courses for the division of Natural Sciences. She has made significant changes to the psychology curriculum to improve student performance as future teachers and for graduate school.
“She has taken the tasks of teaching and the assessment of student learning very seriously,” stated Robert McCormick, dean of the School of Arts and Sciences. “When designing instructional strategies for classrooms, her students have, without exception, used at least one of Dr. Bennett’s models for a lesson idea.”
Concordia University – Ann Arbor is a liberal arts institution of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. With a distinctly Christian environment and an academic community dedicated to excellence, CUAA offers a broad range of undergraduate and graduate degree programs. CUAA is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA) and by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE). For more information on CUAA, visit:
www.cuaa.edu.
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