Five Ohio University professors have been awarded the University Professor distinction for their outstanding contributions to student learning. This year's recipients are Associate Professor of Political Science DeLysa Burnier; Professor of Visual Communication Terry Eiler; Professor of Hearing, Speech and Language Science Donald Fucci; Associate Professor of Accountancy David Kirch; and Associate Professor of Philosophy James Petrik.
Established in 1970, the University Professor provides a way for students to recognize faculty they deem exceptional. Students vote on nominees; a student committee interviews each nominee and observes them teaching, selecting the winners. University Professors receive $2,000 and teach two classes on the topic of their choosing.
DeLysa Burnier
In 2001, Burnier was one of two professors to receive the inaugural Presidential Teacher Award for her contributions to education both inside and outside the classroom. The award recognized her influence in five key areas: teaching practices and innovations, influences on curriculum, mentoring and advising students in both academic and career matters, mentoring fellow instructors and scholarship with respect to teaching.Burnier, who specializes in public policy and American politics, plans to teach a class titled "Life in Politics: Examining the Political Life through Autobiography, Life Writing and Personal Accounts." Through these three media, Burnier hopes to shed light on what it's like to make a life in the ever-changing political world.
"I was really thrilled when I found out about the University Professorship," Burnier said. "I owe a real debt of gratitude to my students. I've been here a while and have never before been nominated, so this is quite an honor."
Terry Eiler
A 1979-80 University Professor award winner, Eiler specializes in photojournalism and digital imaging. Eiler, who in 1977 co-founded Ohio University's School of Visual Communication, has focused his teaching "on visual storytelling and documentary photography in digital and print media." For his University Professor class, Eiler plans to use visual tools to document daily life.
Donald Fucci
Fucci is another two-time University Professor honoree, having taken home the award in 1983-84. Fucci will be retiring at the end of the year."There is no greater honor a teacher can receive than one given to him by the students that have taken his courses," Fucci said. "I will be retiring in July after 35 years of teaching service and can think of no better way to end my career than to receive this award one more time. I feel the same exuberance when I enter the classroom now as I did when I began teaching in the fall of 1968. Receiving this award at the end of my career fills me with a sense of completeness that allows me to look forward to the new challenges that lie ahead."
Fucci plans to focus his University Professor course on anatomy as it relates to communication. "The course will consist of introductory materials on the communication process itself, and will then proceed to the study of the bones, muscles and tissues -- among other things -- that we use to enable us to talk and listen to each other on a daily basis," Fucci said.
David Kirch
Kirch has earned numerous teaching awards in his nine years with the University's College of Business. He has been an MBA Teacher of the Year, earned the Overall Excellence Award for the College and was selected for the 1999 Excellence in Teaching Award by the College's executive advisory board."Being named a University Professor is probably the highest honor a professor can earn at Ohio University," said Kirch, who previously worked as a certified public accountant. "It's an important honor because winners are chosen by students. It's also a tremendous distinction because the process by which the committee chooses the winners is so rigorous and it's not just about teaching. I'm very honored."
Kirch's University Professor class will be titled "Greed 101." An eclectic mix of business, psychology and genetics, the class will cover how money is made, spent and the reasons we do what we do for money. Kirch plans to discuss Martha Stewart and show a movie about poverty.
James Petrik
Petrik is also no stranger to being recognized for his teaching excellence, having won the Jeanette G. Grasselli Brown Faculty Teaching Award within the College of Arts and Sciences. His areas of specialization include modern philosophy and philosophy of religion."I am very pleased to be selected as one of the University Professors for the 2003-04 academic year," Petrik said. "It is gratifying especially that the recognition comes from the students of Ohio University. I count myself as extremely lucky that my job includes the opportunity to discuss intrinsically interesting material with such able and decent individuals. Moreover, if it weren't for my students, I'd only have my wife and children to bore on a daily basis!"
Petrik plans to teach a course titled "Philosophical Reflections on Death and Immortality." The class' emphasis is twofold: Students will consider arguments both for and against belief in life beyond death as well as specific moral issues raised by common conceptions of the afterlife.
