Susan C. Straight, Professor
Department of Creative Writing |
Karen Pyke, Assistant Processor
Department of Sociology |
Catharine E. Wall, Assistant Professor
Department of Hispanic Studies |
| Professor Susan Straight consistently receives high
praise from the students in her creative writing classes.
Her chair describes her as having "a steady stream
of former students returning to campus to visit her ...
to inform her of their newest successes." Her students
always describe her as encouraging, but Professor Straight
does not simply sing praise for everything that is written.
Students describe her as regularly offering "constructive
criticism" and even as "very tough when necessary,"
"incisive, but never delivered in a mean way."
"Professor Straight ... establishes from the first
day that the workshop is a place where we can constructively
critique one another's work without fear of personal slights.
Her own discussion of our work is masterful in that she
is able to help us develop our individual voices as writers
without imposing her own aesthetic values, and she teaches
us to look at other students' work in the
same way. "
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Assistant Professor Karen Pyke is a dedicated, innovative
teacher who has proven her effectiveness in teaching across
a broad range of course types. In her introductory level Sociology
lecture course she pioneered the use of student panels as
a way of breaking down the anonymity students often feel in
large lecture courses and of making the material come alive.
In the words of one student, the panels were "wonderfully
illustrative of the concepts we learn in class." In her
upper division course she found a way to incorporate hands-on
research into the requirements, an experience that many student
relish. "I learned more from the interviews than I did
with any book because I was the one out doing the research,
collecting the data and presenting it to the class,"
reported one of the students. She made an "outstanding
and extremely successful" contribution to the CHASS Connect
program and has made her mark in the graduate curriculum after
less than three years in the department. Outside the formal
classroom she takes on additional students as research assistants
and advisees. What is the basis for this exceptional performance?
The students are clear: "Her course requirements were
excellent. They were interesting, and in return we gave her
our best work." |
Assistant Professor Catharine Wall demonstrates great
skill in teaching. She prepares extensive and detailed syllabi
for her classes, presents material in a very organized and
interesting fashion, and is extremely helpful and accessible
to her students. She always puts her students first, giving
them sound advice and supporting them every step of the
way in their educational endeavors. She expects the best
from them. She is a devoted advisor, offering constructive
feedback and guidance. Among her students' glowing comments:
"Dr. Wall made the monstrous task of seeing the entire
history of Latin American Poetry not only enjoyable, but,
I think, beneficial for all who participated;" "She
is patient if you don't understand and is always available
if you need some type of help;" "She knew all
our names by the second day and it showed that she really
cared about us. She encouraged us to go to her office hours.
To me, her style is the definition of UCR".
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