The Lerman-Neubauer '69 Prize for Excellence in Teaching and Mentoring, the Michael L. Walzer '56 Award for Teaching and the Louis Dembitz Brandeis Prize for Excellence in Teaching were presented at last week's faculty meeting. The awards were given to Profs. Elizabeth Ferry (ANTH), Maura Jane Farrelly (AMST) and Melissa Kosinski-Collins (BIOL), respectively.The awards, which recognize excellence in teaching, mentorship and scholarship, were the first for all three professors. Recipients are nominated by students, and the Committee for the Support of Teaching makes the final decisions about the winners. The Lerman-Neubauer Prize carries a stipend of $5,000, and the other two awards include stipends of $1,000.

Dean of Arts and Sciences Adam Jaffe, who presented the awards, said during the presentation that the Lerman-Neubauer Prize requires "its recipient to be not just an exceptional teacher but also one who has had a significant impact on students' lives as a mentor, adviser and friend." Previous recipients of the award include Profs. David Rakowski (MUS) and Ann Koloski-Ostrow (CLAS).

In an interview with the Justice, Ferry said, "Teaching is very important to me, and it's something that I think a lot about, . and it's wonderful to know that when you try hard at something and think a lot about it that people feel like you are doing a good job."

"Professor Ferry is committed, compassionate, enthusiastic and an excellent example of the quintessential Brandeis professor who engages with all her students and invests herself wholly in her classes," wrote a student who nominated Ferry. Another student said simply, "She has consistently proved to be the best professor I have ever had."

In her interview, Ferry said that if every student in her class could walk out having learned one thing, she hopes that they will "not just accept what different sources or different people say but think about it as critically . and fairly as possible."

Jaffe said during the presentation that the Michael L. Walzer '56 Award for Teaching is "given every year to a tenure-track faculty member who combines scholarship with inspired teaching." Past winners include Profs. Peter Kalb (FA) and Wendy Cadge (SOC).

Quotes from students who nominated Farrelly included, "An open-minded, intellectually adventurous professor, Maura Jane Farrelly tops my list of favorite professors," and "She has opened my eyes to so many issues in the world that I otherwise would not have been exposed to and has subsequently made me a more informed citizen. In the classroom, Prof. Farrelly strives to push her students to think past the obvious."

In an e-mail to the Justice, Farrelly wrote that one of her favorite parts of teaching at Brandeis is that the students at Brandeis "actually THINK about what they have read and challenge the ideas they encounter in the readings." She added that in the classroom, she likes to ask "questions to stimulate critical thinking and illuminate ideas. I had some marvelous instructors in college who taught this way, and it just kind of rubbed off on me."

Kosinski-Collins, who joined the Brandeis faculty in 2006, joined former winners Profs. Bruce Foxman (CHEM) and Marya Levenson (EDU), among others, as the recipient of the Louis Dembitz Brandeis Prize for Excellence in Teaching.

In an e-mail to the Justice, Kosinski-Collins wrote, "My classes are usually a combination of discussion and lecture. . I constantly pose questions (some of which have no straight-forward answer) to my students. I often have them read articles on sometimes controversial topics and ask them to talk about them in class."

A student who nominated Kosinski-Collins wrote, "Melissa is without exception the best teacher I have ever had. She not only cares about her students, but cares about her teaching." Another student wrote, "She is so passionate about the subject of Biology that it instills the same passion in the students she teaches." In her e-mail, Kosinski-Collins wrote of receiving the award, "I couldn't imagine a bigger honor. Just the fact that my students appreciate and care about me enough to nominate me for this award is amazing."

Along with these three awards, Prof. Eric Olsen (Heller) was presented with a teaching award; Prof. Lorraine Klerman (Heller) received an award for her mentorship, and Profs. Edward Bayone and Alfonso Canella (IBS) were presented with awards for their teaching. Prof. Allan Keiler (MUS) was given the Dean of Arts and Sciences Mentoring Award.