WILLIAM WASSERSTROM PRIZE FOR THE TEACHING OF GRADUATE STUDENTS

This award is given annually in memory of Professor William Wasserstrom of the English Department, a scholar of broad interests and profound learning, whose particular joy in teaching came in the graduate seminar, where students came to ask of themselves and each other those questions that led them to still better questions.  Professor Wasserstrom knew that the best teacher is not the one who knows the most answers, but the one with the most refined ability to recognize the best questions.

The prize is made to the full-time member of the faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences who is judged to exemplify best the qualities so evident in the career of William Wasserstrom: his outstanding success as a graduate seminar leader, research and dissertation director, and advisor and role model for graduate students.

The award will be made on the basis of the following criteria:

1. The recipient shall be a distinguished scholar whose work is characterized by its originality and distinctive character.  The award will recognize the recipient’s active participation in the scholarly community and dedication to invigorating the life of the mind.  This criteria represents a minimum level mark but 2. and 3. (below) are most critical for receipt of the award.
   
2. The recipient shall have presented an outstanding record of effective training of graduate students in any of a variety of ways, as a lecturer, seminar leader, research director, or mentor.  The award will recognize a person’s outstanding assistance to graduate students aspiring to become professionals in the field.
   
3. The recipient shall have furthered the cause of graduate level research and training at Syracuse University by participating actively in the intellectual and institutional life of the College and his or her department.

Any graduate student or member of the faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences may nominate a full-time member of the faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences.  The letter of nomination should present as concretely as possible the principal reasons for recognizing the nominee as an outstanding teacher of graduate students.

Included with the letter of nomination needed are:

• Two seconding letters, including at least one from a current or former graduate student.  The letter should detail what the nominee has given to that student’s career. 
• Letters from colleagues (including at least one from the nominee’s home department) who can speak to mentoring of students and the impact of their national reputation on their teaching (so they should write only if they can comment on this). 
• Letters from former students detailing what that person has given to their career.
• Teaching evaluations from graduate courses.
• A current curriculum vitae of the nominee.
• A complete list of all advisees and their relevant positions.
• A list of awards won by students, whether at SU or from funding agencies or others (internships, dissertation grants and the like).

All nominations will be considered active for two years from the date of submission.

The Selection Committee is part of the College’s Committee on Instruction, which is appointed by the Dean of the College with the advice of the Faculty Council.

The decision will be reached by mid-April, and the award will be made before the end of the spring semester.

The award ceremony will be a public occasion hosted by the College and the recipient’s home department, to which graduate students and faculty members are invited.  In addition, there will be a public announcement of the award.