Three of CMC's outstanding faculty members were honored at the College's 2012 Awards Banquet on May 2 with teaching awards: Gary Hamburg, Andrew Schroeder, and Shana Levin. Collectively (and respectively, by order), they are a scholar of Russian history, a fairly-new-to-CMC assistant professor of philosophy, and a professor of psychology who manages to make statistics exciting (yes, exciting!).

Here, in the words of faculty colleagues (including associate dean of the faculty Nicholas Warner) is more about this year's faculty honorees:

Gary Hamburg: The Roy P. Crocker Award for Merit

Gary Hamburg, the Otto M. Behr Professor of European History, is a distinguished scholar of Russian history, who joined CMC in 2004 after teaching at the University of Notre Dame for 25 years. The author of numerous books, articles, and translations, professor Hamburg also serves as co-editor of the Journal of Modern Russian History and Historiography. Yet with all of his extensive scholarly, professional, and teaching commitments, early this year he readily took on the challenging task of chairing a committee charged with reviewing the history and practices of CMC, with regard to admissions. This task entailed hours of interviews, researching admissions records, and evaluating a mass of data going back many years. Professor Hamburg's calm, assured guidance helped steer his committee's work, resulting in a superbly organized report to the faculty that will help the College go forward in evaluating its admissions process. "In his work on this committee, as in so many other areas, he has greatly enriched the life of the College," Warner says.

Hamburg earned his bachelor's, master's and doctorate degrees at Stanford University.

Andrew Schroeder: The Glenn R. Huntoon Jr. Teaching Award

The fact that assistant professor of philosophy Andrew Schroeder won the Junior Huntoon Award is especially remarkable---it was his first year at CMC, and obviously one that made an impression on his students. Professor Schroeder received his bachelor's degree from Carleton College, and his Ph.D. from Harvard; his scholarly and teaching interests include bioethics and medical ethics, economic justice, the philosophy of science, and political philosophy. In describing her new colleague, philosophy department chair Amy Kind says, "Having an office across the hall from Drew, I can't help but overhear many of his office hour conversations with students. I've been continually amazed at the high quality of these philosophical exchanges. Drew has an incredible ability--one that we all aspire to, of course--to help the students bring out the best in themselves. When we hired Drew, we knew we were getting an amazing teacher, but I don't think we'd come close to realizing just how amazing he is!"

Shana Levin: The G. David Huntoon Senior Teaching Award

Shana Levin, the Crown Professor of Psychology and George R. Roberts Fellow, is outstanding for her combination of prolific, cutting-edge scholarship and excellent teaching. In fact, the Huntoon Award complements the many awards Professor Levin has already received for her scholarship in psychology. This recognition of her teaching is all the more impressive, coming as it does when Professor Levin is also busy serving as chair of the psychology department. That role requires Professor Levin to spend time not just with students, but with faculty and administrators, too, ensuring the department's smooth success. Levin recently moved with her family to a new home, yet managed to handle that transition, along with all of her professional and teaching responsibilities, with the aplomb and cool for which she has long been known and admired throughout the CMC community. "She even manages to make Statistics exciting for her students," Warner says.

Levin earned her bachelor's degree at UC Berkeley, and her master's and doctorate degrees at UCLA.

Source: Claremont McKenna College