CU-Boulder anthropology Professor Dennis Van Gerven, known for his lively classroom presentations and his research on Nubian mummies, has been named the 1998 Colorado Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
The award was announced today by CASE, the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education, which established the Professors of the Year Program in 1981. Van Gerven was selected from among nine nominees representing seven colleges and universities in Colorado and was among 553 faculty members nominated by colleges and universities nationally for the 1998 awards.
Acclaimed for his research in skeletal biology, Van Gerven is known for his cache of Nubian mummy skeletons, stored in the Hale Science Building, which he uses frequently in anthropology lectures to demonstrate that clues to the lives of the ancient Nubians are locked in their well-preserved bones. His study and subsequent publication of findings about the remains of the ancient people established Van Gerven's pre-eminence in his field.
But his translation of those findings in classroom presentations, his expansion and promotion of the campuswide Honors Program, and his recognition beyond campus for talks around the state set Van Gerven apart from his peers.
In his nomination letter for Van Gerven, anthropology Professor David Greene called Van Gerven's teaching "outstanding, in fact incredible ... his undergraduate teaching goes beyond that realm (natural science) by enabling his students to appreciate what science means to them, what are its strengths and weaknesses, and, most importantly, how science affects their lives."
Greene also credits Van Gerven for contributing "beyond the normal to public service for the University" and for giving "hundreds of talks to local schoolchildren over the years."
Chancellor Richard L. Byyny praised Van Gerven's "dedication to teaching and to improving the undergraduate experience for so many CU-Boulder students through the Honors Program.
"The university is fortunate to have top scholars who also are committed to sharing their scholarship through creative classroom teaching, as exemplified by Professor Van Gerven," Byyny said.
Mary Ann Shea, director of the Faculty Teaching Excellence Program, which awarded Van Gerven the President's Teaching Scholars Award in 1996, said, "It is always exciting when one of our own faculty members is recognized for exceptional effort in undergraduate education, including work both inside and outside the classroom.
"Dennis Van Gerven has captivated the hearts and minds of many CU-Boulder students. The Carnegie award recognizes the importance of the integration of teaching and scholarship to learning especially well in the example of Dennis, who has been recognized often on campus as a President's Teaching Scholar and director of the Honors Program."
Van Gerven's studies of the Christian settlement of Kulubnarti, dating from A.D. 550 to A.D. 700, produced a series of findings since the early 1980s. One of the first was the discovery of the modern antibiotic tetracycline in the bodies of Nubian peasants, later traced to bacteria in the soil that transferred to grain and was consumed by the inhabitants. Another was the role of political pressure in the physiological stress and mortality of medieval Nubian peasants in northern Sudan and the finding that Nubian women outlived men by an average five years at age 10, and by two years in subsequent decades, similar to the longer life expectancy of modern women over men.
Previous CU-Boulder recipients of the Professor of the Year Award are Professors John Taylor, physics, and Klaus Timmerhaus, chemical engineering.
This year, the Carnegie Foundation announced winners in 48 states and the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. CASE and the Carnegie Foundation selected the state winners and a Carnegie Foundation panel selected four national winners.
The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, is a policy center located in Palo Alto, Calif. CASE is an international association of colleges, universities and independent elementary and secondary schools based in Washington, D.C.
A reception honoring Van Gerven will be sponsored by Chancellor Byyny at a date to be announced.
Professor Dennis Van Gerven
Colorado Professor of the Year 1998
Oct. 8, 1998
Quote
"The mission of this institution is to tap into the richness of these young people who come to us every year. In a world that is changing as fast as ours, we can't fill students' heads with facts and assure them that those facts will get them through the next 20 or 30 years of their lives. The facts will change too fast. Stuffing their heads won't do anymore. We have to teach them to learn more actively than we have done in the past. It's the never-ending process for learning that we have to prepare them for."
Teaching Awards
1996 President's Teaching Scholar Award
1995 SOAR Award, Student Organization for Alumni Relations
1992 Boulder Faculty Assembly Teaching Award
1991 Gender Free Language Award for Teaching
1984 Honors Program Teaching Award
1982 Dean's Superior Merit Award
1982 Boulder Faculty Assembly Teaching Excellence Award
1981 Departmental Merit Award
Teaching and Advising
Professor Van Gerven annually teaches one class of 500 students, two honors classes of about 15 students each and an anthropology honors seminar, in addition to serving as director of the Honors Program. The Honors Program enrolls more than 600 undergraduate students per semester. He also directs several students per semester on their Honors theses assignments and has been a graduate adviser for master's and Ph.D. students for the past 20 years.