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Wasserman's Metcalf Cup filled with student acclaim

By Brian Fitzgerald

On the first day of class in his Animal Behavior course, CAS Biology Professor Fred Wasserman shows his students video footage of an ovenbird nest. Through a small hole, four fledglings leave their cramped quarters one by one, like circus clowns climbing out of a tiny car.

CAS Biology Professor Fred Wasserman, winner of the 2001 Metcalf Cup and Prize for Excellence in Teaching. Photo by Kalman Zabarsky

"They typically stay in the nest for eight days," he says. But on the 9th and 10th days, the mother continues to feed two oversized chicks. In fact, they are even larger than the mother. "Why are the chicks in there two days after the rest of the brood left?" he asks without getting a response. "Do they look like ovenbirds?" They don't -- because they're not ovenbirds. The chicks are cowbirds, a species that lays eggs in other birds' nests instead of building their own. Although they don't build nests, they ensure that their young are fed by practicing what is known as brood parasitism.

The students are fascinated. He has won them over. However, it's not just the use of multimedia in the classroom that has enabled Wasserman to win the 2001 Metcalf Cup and $10,000 Prize for Excellence in Teaching. He also challenges students by getting them to ask the right questions. "I try to get them to do their own observations, to think critically," he says. "I want them to become behaviorists."

Students report that Wasserman gets to know personally everyone in each class. Indeed, many of them decide to become biologists after taking his Introductory Biology course. One student compares Wasserman's charisma to that of an influential elementary school teacher, the kind of instructor who evokes a sheer joy in learning and who lives on in memory. "I witnessed fellow biology students who were in nearly every college course with me -- and who I had never heard speak before -- suddenly spring to life under Dr. Wasserman's tutelage," says Ph.D. candidate Ryan Harrington (GRS'03). "He made us realize why we were biology majors, why the living world offers wondrous fascination, and why theories explaining such life can be equally as fascinating. It was as if twice a week he took us back to a more youthful time. We were once again encouraged, challenged, curious, impressed, and inspired. The elementary school excitement was in the air."

Although Wasserman's contagious enthusiasm can be likened to that of a grade-school teacher, students in his Animal Behavior course know that he expects them to do professional-quality work. His goal is to provide them with an opportunity to design and conduct independent research. "The initial laboratories require the students to perform assigned experiments and to write reports as if their papers were to be submitted to a journal for publication," he says.

Wasserman, who came to BU in 1977, has published extensively, especially his research on the white-throated sparrow. Sure enough, a framed sketch of the bird hangs on the wall behind his desk. But lately he has turned his attention to the ovenbird. At present, Wasserman and his students have been videotaping and banding these creatures on conservation land in Weston, Mass. They are studying mating patterns and how predation on ovenbirds changes through the seasons. Much of his fieldwork takes place in late spring and summer. Then in the fall it's back to the classroom, where Wasserman has one of the heaviest teaching loads in the biology department.

He acknowledges that the balance between instruction and research is a difficult one, but says that teaching is his greatest priority. "The essence of the University is its undergraduates, and the administration has stressed that it's important to devote as much time as possible to teaching," he says. "It's not just lip service. BU has let me know that this is the most important aspect of my job." Wasserman recalls that Dennis Berkey, provost and dean of arts and sciences, "was a Metcalf Prize winner himself, and has always been incredibly supportive of me in this regard."

The Metcalf Cup and Prize isn't Wasserman's first teaching award. In 1996, the Natick, Mass., resident was voted professor of the year by the BU chapter of the Golden Key National Honor Society, and in 1997 he received the CAS Neu Family Award for Excellence in Teaching. Every year Wasserman receives a loud ovation at the biology department convocation ceremony. This year was no exception, but he was also met with thunderous applause at the main Commencement ceremony. "My family got a big kick out of it," he says of his wife, Wendy, and his two children, Rebecca, 16, and Michael, 13.

His students are vocal and appreciative because Wasserman's teaching has changed many of their lives. "He is unlike any professor I have ever had," says Ruth Van Hatten (CAS'01). "I always had an interest in the course material, but Professor Wasserman showed me how to turn this interest into a new career path. He is by far the best professor at BU."

The Metcalf honors were established in 1974 by the late Arthur G. B Metcalf (SED'35, Hon.'74), who was a longtime chairman of the University's Board of Trustees. The prizes recognize a professor's scholarship, dedication, and commitment to students. Candidates are recommended by students, faculty, and alumni, and undergo an extensive review process by a committee of faculty and students. The 2001 Metcalf Cup and Prize winner is CAS Biology Professor Fred Wasserman. Lisa Sullivan, SPH associate professor of epidemiology and biostatistics, is this year's recipient of the Metcalf Award for Excellence in Teaching (see article, "Metcalf winner's magic brings statistics to life").

8 June 2001
Boston University
Office of University Relations