Spring 2013 Teaching Awards Announced.
The BUSPH Education Committee is honoring the achievements of 12 faculty who received an Award for Excellence in Teaching for the Spring 2013 semester.
Recipients are selected by the Teaching Awards Selection Sub-Committee which is comprised of faculty from each department. The Sub-Committee’s selection is based on a review of the overall course evaluations, including instructor ratings and student comments. Included below are comments from student evaluations of the courses.
Our students were very satisfied with their experiences in the classroom this spring. They are appreciative of faculty efforts to incorporate different techniques to promote learning, to include timely topics, to engage them in exciting discussions, and to provide them with opportunities to learn and master important skills.
 Michael McClean |
Michael McClean EH804: Exposure Assessment Comment: “Mike is very knowledgeable in his field and brought valuable examples of experience to the lectures.” Comment: “The practical assignments were very helpful and I’m sure these skill sets will be used again and again.” |
 Wendy Heiger-Bernays
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Wendy Heiger-Bernays and Donna Vorhees Comment: “I learned so much in this course. I am leaving it feeling very confident in my new skills. The course was well organized to facilitate learning- it’s a dense topic and there are a lot of moving parts but it was very well executed.” Comment: “I highly recommend taking this course. It puts everything we’ve learned all together and gives you a very marketable skill.” |
 Yvette Cozier |
Yvette Cozier EP713: Introduction to Epidemiology Comment: “Professor Cozier was great! She would always encourage questions from the class and would stop and review material if anyone expressed any concerns. She brought in her own work and related it to the class, as well as work done by other Professors in SPH which was awesome!” Comment: “It was a pleasure learning from Professor Cozier. She was approachable, knowledgeable and clear.” |
 Jessica Leibler |
Jessica Leibler EP713: Introduction to Epidemiology Comment: “Professor Leibler was an outstanding professor in this class. She was friendly, funny, knowledgeable, and engaging. She clearly is an expert in the subject and wanted the students to enjoy the class, while also providing a rigorous curriculum.” Comment: “I learned a lot from this course and thought professor Leibler arrived prepared and enthusiastic each week.” |
 Ann Aschengrau |
Ann Aschengrau EP759: Reproductive Epidemiology Comment: “The course was able to drive home the key concepts of epidemiology which other courses only briefly touched on. I feel fully confident in these key concepts now.” Comment: “Ann is a great instructor! I learned a lot from the course and from the assignments we had to complete. This course is a great asset to the Epidemiology Department and is helpful in honing in and actively applying some concepts learned in EP 813.” |
| Monica Onyango IH755: Managing Disasters & Complex Humanitarian Emergencies Comment: “Monica is an amazing teacher! She knows the subject area very well and always has a story about something relating to the subject.” Comment: “The instructor was very knowledgeable and used real-world examples throughout each session. Hands-on problem solving and working with others added to understanding of concepts.” |
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| Taryn Vian IH773: Financial Management for International Health Comment: “Taryn is truly an amazing teacher. She genuinely enjoys teaching and wants every student to truly understand the concepts and thrive in her class. I never felt intimidated to ask questions when I did not understand something.” Comment: “Taryn is one of the best professors I’ve had at BUSPH. She is able to get her point across effectively which allowed me to understand the material.” |
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 Chris Gill |
Chris Gill IH800: Clinical Development of a New Medicinal: A case study about licensing a new vaccine for the developing world Comment: “Dr. Gill is an outstanding teacher who is clearly passionate about vaccine development and about his student’s achievements. He pushed all of us to work hard and learn as much as we could, while providing an overarching support and knowledge base. The dedication he takes on for these 8 weeks, allowing us to dictate the next steps in the vaccine development and then returning the corresponding data, demonstrates how much time and energy he invests into making this class special.” |
 Sophie Godley |
Sophie Godley PH510: Introduction to Public Health Comment: “Sophie Godley is honestly one of the most amazing professors I have ever had. She presents the material both clearly and effectively, and pushes us to think in a realistic, practical way which facilitates learning and makes it applicable to life outside the classroom. She understands the balance of breaking up class into lecture, discussion, and other activities which makes focusing easier. She is also extremely funny, which makes class so much more enjoyable..” |
 Bill DeJong |
Bill DeJong PH853: Strategic Planning & Communications Comment: “Assignments were very helpful to reinforce key concepts from class. During one-on-one discussion sessions, Bill’s comments were spot on. I learned a tremendous amount from this course. It has been the most useful course in the DrPH program.”
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 Joan Bragar |
Joan Bragar MC730: Leading Teams to Face Challenges and Achieve Results in Public Health Comment: “Joan is an expert in the leadership field, and learning from her was an honor. She was open to new ideas and suggestions and facilitated an open forum of learning. It was a wonderful class and Joan made it a great atmosphere for learning.” Comment: “The reflection papers helped solidify the skills we learned in class.”
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| Emily Rothman SB750: Preventing Intimate Partner Violence Comment: “This class has been the best part so far of my academic experience here at BU. Many people in this class knew feminist theory and knew it to be fact. Emily really pushed us into thinking about alternative explanations for IPV and how these theories relate to program implementation and evaluation.” |
The following faculty provided students with an excellent learning experience but were not eligible for teaching awards because they won in Spring 2012 for these same courses:
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BS820 |
Logistic Regression & Survival Analysis |
Michael LaValley |
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EP755 |
Infectious Disease Epidemiology |
Natasha Hochberg |
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IH741 |
International Health Consultation Techniques |
Rich Feeley |
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IH757 |
Fighting Corruption Through Accountability and Transparency |
Taryn Vian |
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LW830 |
Health Insurance, Health Reform and the Law |
Wendy Mariner |
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LW854 |
Mental Health Law |
Leonard Glantz |
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MC785 |
Sexual and Reproductive Health Advocacy |
Lois McCloskey |
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PM734 |
Principles of Non-Profit Accounting |
David Lagasse |
The Education Committee would like to thank them for the time and effort they put into their courses.