Four professors were honored for excellence in teaching and mentoring with the annual Brandeis Teaching Awards on May 16.At a reception in the International Lounge, students gave presentations in honor of the recipients.

The winners, who were announced at a university faculty meeting in April, received three awards from the Committee for the Support of Teaching and one from the Student Union.

Professors Ibrahim Sundiata (AAAS), William E. Kapelle (HIST) and Janet McIntosh (ANTH) received awards from the committee, while Prof. Dan Perlman (BIO) accepted the Student Union Teaching Award for the second consecutive year.

Jason Brodsky '07, the Student Union director of academic affairs , who presented the award at the faculty meeting with Union President Jenny Feinberg '07, said that Perlman's consecutive honors are telling of his success.

"Dan Perlman embodies the core Brandeis academic values of scholarship and mentorship," Brodsky said. "He has touched countless students with his brilliance as a professor and accessibility as a member of the Brandeis faculty community."

The award includes a $500 honorarium and recognizes a faculty member whose contribution to Brandeis is considered by students to be exceptional. The undergraduate student body votes for each year's recipient, choosing from a list of 12 professors with the highest teacher evaluation ratings.

The Committee for the Support of Teaching-a group of faculty, students and staff-used subcommittees to select the winners from a pool of nominations submitted by students, alumni and department chairs, according to Elaine Wong, the associate dean of curriculum and academic programs.

Sundiata received the Jeanette Lerman-Neubauer '69 and Joseph Neubauer Prize for Excellence in Teaching and Mentoring, which carries a $5,000 prize to recognize his contribution to students' lives not only inside, but also outside the classroom.

According to its official statement, the committee chose Sundiata because "he is a wonderful teacher who has an unsurpassed passion for history. He's a well-published scholar, who at the same time loves to engage his students and absolutely never intimidates."

Kapelle was honored with the Louis Dembitz Brandeis Prize for Excellence in Teaching, which includes a $1,000 stipend.

"As a teacher, Bill [Kapelle] is regularly praised by his students for his clear, well-organized, informative and inspiring lectures, his ability to stimulate interest in the subject of medieval history, and his willingness to provide help outside of the classroom," the committee's announcement read.

McIntosh received the Michael L. Walzer Award for Teaching, as well as its $1,000 prize.

According to the committee, students who nominated McIntosh described her as "an intellectually stimulating, engaging lecturer and gifted discussion leader, and consistently praise her intelligence and extensive knowledge of her subject.