The Fintz Award for Teaching Excellence in the Arts and Humanities
The Fintz Award for Teaching Excellence in the Arts and Humanities recognizes outstanding faculty who, in keeping with the goals of integrative studies, seek to engage students with arts and humanities ways of knowing and to assist them in developing critical thinking and effective communication skills. The Fintz Award is possible thanks to an endowment provided by Professor Ken Waltzer, former director of CISAH, to honor his father. The selection of candidates, final recommendations made by the CISAH Advisory Committee, and awards ceremony take place during the spring semester of each year. IAH faculty may receive the Fintz Awards only once every five years.
2024 Award Recipients
Stacey Barajas
The Fintz Award Committee is pleased to honor Stacey Barajas for her outstanding teaching of IAH 207: Modern Mexican Traditions and Identities. This innovative online asynchronous course examines a variety of Mexican traditions and identities, focusing especially on middle-class family life in the city of Monterrey from the 1930s to 1950s. Professor Barajas’s students praised the methods she used for engaging them in the online asynchronous format, with one noting that the course was “laid out…to perfection.” Students also mentioned Professor Barajas’s skill for “introducing new cultures in a way that also allows you to compare to your own personal culture” and “getting us to think critically” in their nominations of her for this award. On the basis of these and other materials, it was evident to the committee that this instructor embodied the IAH mission of empowering students to more deeply reflect on, understand, inquire about, and transform the world around them.
Julie Koehler
The Fintz Award Committee is pleased to honor Julie Koehler for her outstanding teaching of IAH 207: The Fairy Tale in Culture and Society. Professor Koehler’s expertise and enthusiasm for the subject matter were readily evident to and appreciated by her student nominators, who singled out her ability to contextualize fairy tale and folklore content in a way that effectively communicated its relevance and importance to a general education audience. Her attitude and teaching style were highlighted by one student as “the perfect combination to create a positive learning environment.” In addition to these student comments, the committee was moved by the clarity of Professor Koehler’s instructional and assessment materials, as well as the interdisciplinary range of topics and assignments she integrated within the class.
Rob Roznowski
The Fintz Award Committee is pleased to honor Rob Roznowski for his outstanding teaching of IAH 241D: Creative Arts and Mental Health. Professor Roznowski designed the class to reignite creativity among students while investigating ways in which expressive activities can reduce stress and promote positive mental health benefits. The class culminated with students creating and sharing de-stressing activities in residence hall neighborhoods across campus in preparation for final exams. The committee pointed to this course structure as a clear manifestation of IAH’s invitation of students to lifelong engagement with the arts and humanities in ways that transcend the classroom, and Professor Roznowski’s students agreed. One student in the class described the final project as “very rewarding” and a “fulfilling [way] to give back to the students at MSU.”
Morgan Shipley
The Fintz Award Committee is pleased to honor Morgan Shipley for his outstanding teaching in IAH 231A: Religious Persecution, Spiritual Responses, and Projects of Justice in United States History.” Professor Shipley’s course was set up to explore common characteristics, popular depictions, and lived realities of minority religions in American culture as a way to answer this question (and others): What are the demands of democratic citizenship? His student nominators celebrated Professor Shipley’s skill for cultivating interest in this challenging subject while remaining attentive to student wellbeing through clear expressions of care and compassion. The classroom described by Professor Shipley’s students and demonstrated through his course materials is defined by inclusivity, self-reflection, and critical thinking, and so the awards committee pointed to his work as exemplars of the mission and goals of IAH teaching.
The Somers Award for Excellence in Teaching
The Somers Award for Excellence in Teaching recognizes graduate teaching assistants who have demonstrated a commitment to excellence, innovation and creativity in undergraduate teaching. Nominees are recommended by faculty and students for their strong ability to promote meaningful student-teacher interaction, as well as in creating a classroom environment that encourages active learning and critical thinking.
2024 Award Recipients
April Best (English)
Lucio Bianchi (History)
Kailyn Carr (English)
Peighton Connor (Philosophy)
Kyle Flanagan (English)
Emily Roman (Music)
Past Award Recipients
2024 Service to IAH Award
Carrie Lewis
CISAH is pleased to honor Carrie Lewis with the Service to IAH Award. She has gone above and beyond to support IAH students and faculty alike through her efforts and advocacy as the Center’s Academic Operations Undergraduate Studies Coordinator. There have been countless IAH courses and programs that have relied upon her assistance to succeed, and Carrie has been consistent in providing empathy and clarity in response to inquiries.