TEACHING AWARDS


 Teaching Awards: | CHEMISTRY | GS: EDUCATION | GS: FINE ARTS | LAW | SOCIAL WORK

Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar:

Dr. Rappe of Chemistry

Dr. Andrew Rappe, assistant professor of chemistry, has won the prestigious Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award for 1999, one of 20 given in the nation to provide external support to young faculty members at the early stages of their academic careers. The $60,000 award is unrestricted except for the designation of $5,000 to the recipient's department for use in enhancing undergraduate education.

Dr. Rappe, a theoretical physical chemist who took his B.A. from Harvard in 1986 and his Ph.D. from M.I.T. in 1992, was a postdoctoral fellow at UC/Berkeley in 1992-94.

Since joining Penn in the fall of 1994 he has focused on the quantum-mechanical prediction of the properties of molecules and solids, and tailoring molecule-surface properties through substrate modification. For his work in this area he was named a Sloan Foundation Fellow last year. He has also received an NSF Career Development Award.

Among other activities, Dr. Rappe maintains on the web The Rappe Group, with postdoctoral and graduate student members, which "applies the theoretical methods of quantum, classical, and statistical mechanics to explain and predict the properties of a broad spectrum of fascinating chemical systems," to quote Group's home page (www.lorax.chem.upenn.edu). The Group is also "strongly involved in advancing the state-of-the-art of Basic Theory and Methodology."

The Camille Dreyfus Award is one of two given by the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation. The late chemist-inventor Camile Dreyfus and his late brother Henry organized and directed the Celanese Corporation. Both awards "encourage young scholars who embrace and amalgamate the academic research and teaching missions," with the Camille Dreyfus Award emphasizing individual research attainment and promise alongside excellence in teaching.

 Teaching Awards: | CHEMISTRY | GS: EDUCATION | GS: FINE ARTS | LAW | SOCIAL WORK

GSE: Ellen Braffman

Ellen Just Braffman, an instructor and fieldwork advisor in the Graduate School of Education, is the winner of the School's 1999 Excellence in Teaching Award, which recognizes those who are "imaginative, well-organized, intellectually challenging, inspiring and enthusiastic in their teaching practice."

Ms. Braffman took her B.A. cum laude in American history from the College in 1977 and her M.S. from G.S.E. a year later. After teaching in Springfield and Upper Darby she joined G.S.E.'s Educational Leadership Division in 1982 and served as its associate director, 1983-84, while completing her Ph.D. here.

During her five years with the Atwater Kent Museum's Phila-A-Kid Program, 1983-88, she developed a highly regarded children's social history camp focusing on life in the 17th and 18th Centuries. Some of her scholarly articles discuss ways children experience and recreate history; in others, and in the popular press, she also writes about topics in Black History.

Since 1991 she has taught two of G.S.E.'s most popular courses in social studies methodology, and supervised student teachers in all subject areas of secondary schools.

"When we look back at our graduate experience at Penn, Ellen is the professor we remember for her dedication to her profession and enthusiasm for her students," said her nominators. "Ellen opened up the door to our teaching careers, offering us insight into new theories and ways of involving elementary students in social studies that would impact their lives."

 Teaching Awards: | CHEMISTRY | GS: EDUCATION | GS: FINE ARTS | LAW | SOCIAL WORK

GSFA: Anthony Tomazinis

The Graduate School of Fine Arts has given its 1999 Perkins Award for Distinguished Teaching to Dr. Anthony Tomazinis, professor of city and regional planning and former chair of the Faculty Senate.

Dr. Tomazinis, who combines an engineering background with extensive research and professional city planning experience, has been on the faculty for over 35 years, teaching courses in transportation planning, infrastructure systems, strategic planning, evaluation and international planning.

"Dr. Tomazinis knows his students," said the School's announcement. "Not just as names--but who the students are, where they are from, why they are studying planning, what their goals are after graduation, in what area of planning they wish to concentrate. He recognizes the strengths of his students, and in a thoughtful and deliberate manner acknowledges the contributions a student has made.

"The success of his former students is the real testimonial of Dr. Tomazinis' credentials. [They] are working at all levels of government and private practice, including key positions at state and regional planning agencies."

The G. Holmes Perkins Award is given in recognition of distinguished teaching and innovation in the methods of instruction in the classroom, seminar, or studio to a facility member in the Graduate School of Fine Arts. The award is named in honor of an internationally recognized planner who was dean of the School of Fine Arts from 1951-1971.

Teaching Awards: | CHEMISTRY | GS: EDUCATION | GS: FINE ARTS | LAW | SOCIAL WORK

 Law: David Skeel

The winner of the Law School's Harvey Levin Award for Excellence in Teaching is David A. Skeel, Jr., professor of law--a teacher/scholar who, in addition to publishing in his field on corporations, bankruptcy, business associations and secured transactions, is also the author of several poetry-and-law publications.

Professor Skeel received his B.A. from North Carolina and J.D. from the University of Virginia. After serving a judicial clerkship and practicing with a Philadelphia firm he joined Temple's School of Law in 1990, and was awarded its Friel-Scanlan Prize for best law scholarship for 1992-93.

He served as a visiting professor at the Law School during the fall 1997 term, where "he was a very active and engaged participant in the intellectual life of the faculty and his teaching was received with extraordinary enthusiasm by his students," said the School's announcement. "He joined the Law Faculty permanently in January 1999 and the graduating class voted to award him the Levin Award after all of two semesters teaching here. This is remarkable recognition of a superlative teacher."

The Levin Award was established by the Philadelphia law firm of Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis to be awarded annually in recognition of teaching excellence. The recipient is selected by majority vote of students earning a J.D. in the year the award is made.

 Teaching Awards: | CHEMISTRY | GS: EDUCATION | GS: FINE ARTS | LAW | SOCIAL WORK

SSW: Kenwyn Smith

The recipient of the 1999 Excellence in Teaching Award from the School of Social Work is Dr. Kenwyn K. Smith, an associate professor at the School since 1990 who has also taught in the executive education programs of the Wharton School for the past 15 years.

Dr. Smith, who is Faculty Master of Ware House in the Quad, earned his B.A. and an M.A. in psychology from the University of Queensland Australia, then took a second M.A. and his Ph.D. in organizational behavior at Yale. Dr. Smith teaches human behavior; group, organizational and community dynamics; and organizational politics, and he is well known for his research on group and intergroup dynamics, organizational change and the management of conflict.

A major additional interest is his work with the AIDS community. He was one of the founders of MANNA, the non-profit organization that delivers hot meals to homebound people living with HIV/AIDS. The book he is currently writing is Incarcerated Fathers.

Teaching Awards: | CHEMISTRY | GS: EDUCATION | GS: FINE ARTS | LAW | SOCIAL WORK


Almanac, Vol. 45, No. 33, May 18/25, 1999

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