Dr. Carol Bersani, associate professor of early childhood education won the Distinguished Teaching Award in 1977.

Making a Difference

Distinguished Teaching Award celebrates 40th anniversary

For 40 years, the Kent State Alumni Association has sponsored the Distinguished Teaching Awards to honor the university’s most dedicated tenure-track educators. Below are profiles of four such celebrated individuals, one for each decade.

For a complete list of winners through the years, plus extended profiles of the faculty mentioned below and others, visit the Kent State Alumni Association Web site. We also invite you to share a memory of your favorite professor on the discussion board on the Kent State Alumni Association Web site.

Dr. Carol Bersani (1977)

“Every semester is a new beginning,” she says. “Every group is different.”

Getting to know her students, asking provocative questions and providing an avenue for students to make their thinking visible are just a few of the methods Bersani has found successful for getting through to students.

“Students are helped when they can relate theory to practice,” she says. “(I try to) teach from an inquiry approach.”

Giving students clear expectations and showing respect for them are also needed when teaching, but Bersani has found that students are not the only ones being taught.

“It is important for teachers to always be learning,” she says. “I try to convey my passion for teaching
and learning.”

Dr. Jerry Lewis (1983)

Before lectures, Lewis sets objectives for what he wants students to learn and uses feedback from students to improve his lectures year after year.

“Good teachers have to know something and communicate it to students effectively,” Lewis says. “I’m always depressed after a lecture, because what’s in my brain never comes out of my mouth. I tell grad students, ‘I should apologize to students from the first five years, because now I finally got it right.’”

According to Lewis, the moments that substantiate his teaching style are when students tell him they appreciate his teaching or they pursued a degree in sociology because of his class.

“The most effective teaching strategy by far is to have passion for the subject,” Lewis says. “If you’re not glad to be here, why should they be?”

Dr. Barb Hipsman (1994)

“With teaching, it’s never in the moment. That’s when you’re challenging them, so students look miserable. Nine times out of 10, payback comes later when something clicks and they tell me about it.”  

Hipsman was honored with the DTA in 1994, the first year she was eligible. She says receiving it early in her career has given her confidence in her teaching and has continued to motivate her to improve over the years.

“I’d come home in tears to my husband saying, ‘I’m a failure.’ The DTA showed me that teaching is for me and that teachers really do make a difference. Also, since I received it at the beginning of my career, I personally feel the need to strive to live up to what the honor means.”

Dr. Murali Shanker (2006)

After being assigned teaching responsibilities during his doctoral work, Shanker fell in love with the profession. His passion for higher education has a simple root: the students.

“I am glad that I have the opportunity to contribute toward the learning of other students,” says Shanker. “My goal is to find a way so that any student who wants to learn should be able to do it.”