Dr, Susan 13. Harris, the co-director of the TALENT (Teaching and Leading for Educational Needs with Technology) program and a professor in the Curriculum and Instruction Department of the Kremen School of Education and Human Development, has been awarded the top teaching award at California State University, Fresno.
Dr. Jeronima Echeverria, provost and vice president of Academic Affairs, named Harris as recipient of the 2004 Excellence in Teaching Award.
The provost has also honored the following:
• Dr. John Moghaddam of the Management Department for the Technology in Education award.
• Dr. Donald Wise of the Educational Research and Administration Department for the Faculty Service award.
• Dr. Alice Wright of the Biology Department for the Graduate Teaching and Mentoring award.
• Dr. Charles Krauter of the Plant Science Department for Distinguished Achievement in Research, Scholarship or Creative Activities.
“Once again, five outstanding professors have been selected to be acknowledged for their contributions to our students and to our academic community,” said Echeverria. “It is truly an honor to recognize them for their exceptional contributions and service to others. Also, I would like to congratulate the many outstanding individuals who were nominated by their peers and their students this year.”
The awards include a stipend of $5,500 for the Excellence in Teaching recipient and $3,000 each to the other four awardees.
Susan Harris (Excellence in Teaching Award) came to Fresno State in 1987 after a 20-year career teaching in secondary schools in California and Texas. During her time here her primary teaching assignment has been within the Single Subject Credential Program,
Harris has been instrumental in research relating to developing visual literacy among secondary students and performance-based assessment.
Harris is committed to helping students develop the knowledge, skills and dispositions necessary for them to become successful teachers and educational leaders in a changing diverse and technologically complex society.
Colleague Michelle Giddens nominated Harris for the Provost’s Award. Giddens said Harris has high expectations of her students, but that she holds herself and colleagues to the same standards and “nothing is done half way.”
Giddens said, “During the course of a semester it was amazing to not only see the students and the ever-changing demands of the student’s competency in the subject matter increase, but their self-esteem and confidence rise as well.”
A student recommendation noted: “As I look toward graduation with my master’s degree this semester I firmly believe that if Susan had not been a constant motivator in my education career I would never have achieved this, as well as many other accomplishments in my teaching career.”
Harris also serves as an assessment consultant for the New College for Instructional Innovation, Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning (CETL).
Harris’s research in the area of visual literacy has lead to the formation of a course entitled “Developing Visual Literacy” and an addition to the material covered in another course.
In recognition of Harris’s accomplishment, Echeverria will purchase a brick in her name for the Teacher’s Honor Wall in front of the Kremen School of Education and Human Development at Fresno State.
John Moghaddam (Technology In Education Award), a professor of management in the Craig School of Business, has developed a Web-based simulation game named WebSim the helps students in his course “Production and Operation Management” experience the POM decision-making process first hand. Each semester the simulation provides 250 students with real-time communication and decision-making capability through the Internet.
Moghaddam also developed a series of virtual lectures (on-demand streaming flash presentations) in lieu of traditional lectures so that students can replay the lectures as often as they wish. Also, prior to the lecture students can download and print the appropriate worksheet related to the subject matter. Since Moghaddam developed these tools, students in the four-unit management course next semester will attend only two hours of regular class session per week,
Donald Wise (Faculty Service Award) chairs the Department of Educational Research and Administration and coordinates the Education Administration Program in the Kremen School of Education. He is a member of the Aspiring Administrators Academy of Fresno Unified School District and serves on the selection committee. Wise also is a member of the Kremen School of Education Community Council, which works together to plan and implement a number of activities to benefit the school.
He has been involved in the development of the newly formed Central Valley Educational leaders Institute and is also involved in the Chancellors Fellowship, which is partially funded by CSU Chancellor Charles Reed’s office.
“His service to the public school education community is far reaching, and often occurs with formal and informal invitations to work with districts and an evaluator, as a coach, as a program planner and as a liaison to the university,” said colleague Dr. Sharon Brown-Welty, who nominated Wise.
Dr. Alice Wright (Graduate Teaching and Mentoring Award) teaches graduate courses and supervises graduate students who utilize her microbiology lab both inside and outside the major. Department Chair Fred Schreiber, who nominated Wright, said she attracts talented students and is willing to invest considerable time and effort in them. One of the reasons Wright attracts students is that she goes to great lengths to help them obtain financial support. This involves writing numerous letters of recommendation as well as assisting students with applications. Of the 30 students who have worked with Wright on research projects since she joined the department in 1998, 15 are from ethnic groups that are underrepresented in the sciences. Four of her former students are enrolled in Ph.D. programs and one will start in the fall. Three former students are in medical school and one will begin dental school in the fall. Others have positions in education and medical fields.
Dr. Charles F. Krauter (Distinguished Achievement in Research, Scholarship or Creative Activity Award) has been performing research and lecturing at Fresno State since 1979. Prior to 1998 most of the research was related to various projects involving the effect of agricultural practices on the potential pollution of groundwater by fertilizers and pesticides, including a joint project with the University of California at Davis titled “Strategies for Mitigation of DBCP Contamination of the Kings Ground Water Basin.”
Since 1998, Krauter has been focusing on air quality because of many state and federal regulations with regard to agricultural problems. He has been working on ammonia and other nitrogen projects for many years and recently has been concentrating his research on projects related to ammonia emissions.
Dr. Daniel Bartell, dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, said, Fresno State is considered one of the leaders in air quality research because of Krauter’s work.
(Copy by University Relations student-intern Jodie Mocciaro)
EDITORS and NEWS/PUBLIC AFFAIRS DIRECTORS: Press releases can be downloaded at www.fresnostatenews.com. University Relations also provides releases for news media companies via e-mail. To be added to the distribution list, send your e-mail address to tomu@csufresno.edu.
