Summer 2003

Honoring GW’s Teaching Assistants

Five graduate teaching assistants received 2002–03 Distinguished Teaching Assistant Awards at a ceremony May 7: Mieczyslaw Dabkowski of mathematics, Julie Donovan of English, Souha Ezzedeen of management science, Brian Flota of English, and Margaret Teliska of chemistry. The winners, recipients of a $1,000 prize, were cited for enthusiasm and innovation in the teaching/learning process, an ability to engage and inspire students, high standards of professionalism and collegiality, and a commitment to the educational enterprise. Students’ faculty mentors were on hand to laud some of the specific achievements that merited recognition, from being able to explain math in the way most helpful to an individual student, to writing creative syllabi and class assignments, and to abandoning a professor, if necessary, to help students in the lab.

“We instituted this University-wide award a year ago,” said Carol Sigelman, associate vice president for research and graduate studies, “to recognize the tremendous contributions GTAs make day in and day out to quality education at GW. The award is part of our larger effort to enhance the preparation of GTAs for the diverse teaching roles they assume — for their benefit in terms of professional development and for the benefit of the students they serve.”

 

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