The nomination period for Edinboro University’s annual “Of the Year” awards honoring, with four separate awards, Edinboro’s finest educator, staff member, scholar and advisor, is drawing to a close, as forms are due by Monday, March 8.
The forms, which allow students, faculty, staff, alumni and other members of the university community, to not only choose a nominee, but also explain why their selection is deserving, can be accessed online via the “_______ of the Year Nominations” tab under the Special Features section on the Edinboro Web site. Voters have the option to submit the forms online or print and bring a copy to the Office of the Provost in Reeder Hall.
While students may downplay the significance of recognition, pointing out that teaching is a job, Jean Jones and Baher Ghosheh, both past winners of Educator of the Year, explained that the award is important, though not necessarily from a personal standpoint.
“I think the awards are important only in the way they reflect that our students and colleagues appreciate our work and value our contributions,” said 2009 winner Ghosheh, a Fulbright scholar, geography professor and chair of two university committees.
2006 winner Jones, a professor of communication and rhetoric and both an active and informed participant in many facets of politics, echoed Ghosheh’s sentiment, adding, “It meant a great deal to me, because I was nominated by my students.”
Patrick Nuzzo, a freshman journalism major, affirmed that he believed the entirety of the Edinboro staff deserved commendation for their work, but was also in support of recognition for those who go “above and beyond to help the student body.”
Both Jones and Ghosheh agreed that the awards would mean little if they did not depend on student voting, but also that the prospect of winning such an award would never shape their teaching style. They did differ, though, with their views on the selection process.
Currently, the results of the voting are tallied and reviewed by a committee appointed by president Jeremy Brown. The top three finalists in each category are then given to the Brown, unranked and then chosen by Brown.
Jones, a supporter of the current system, said, “It is important to have the President’s voice in this selection. Our administrators see all of our reviews—peer evaluations, student reviews, etc. They know our work on campus and in the community in ways that students might not know. They know about our scholarship. Because of that, I think we’ve got a good system; the awards begin with our students, but they are tempered by our record.”
Ghosheh, on the other hand, explained that, when the current system was instituted in the 1990s, many faculty members expressed concern that a president’s selection could be clouded by “office politics.” Although Ghosheh affirmed his utmost confidence in President Brown’s impartiality as a selector, he proposed a new system: “I strongly feel that this process should be driven by committee made up of mostly students, and few faculty and staff.”
Rather than centering the nominations around the educator award, Ghosheh extolled the importance of casting votes in the other categories.
“It is always easier to notice the bad apple or complain about things, but we have so many people that do a wonderful job each and every day,” he said. “We all benefit when we recognize those that do their jobs to the best of their abilities.”
The eventual award winners will receive a number of distinctions including: plaques for both the recipient and for display on campus, recognition at the Spring Convocation and Commencement ceremonies, a Presidential Certificate and a reserved parking spot for one year, a perk which Jones described as “marvelous.”
While many professors and faculty members are quick to praise exceptional students with high grades and positive comments, student reciprocation of that praise for those who enable them to achieve does not just filter back to individuals, but reverberates university-wide.
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