Congratulations to Eric Bateman and Katelyn Arac, winners of the 2019-2020 History Teaching Awards. The Teaching Award presentation for all 2019-2020 recipients is available here.
Eric Bateman received the 2019-2020 Award in Teaching Excellence for a Teaching Fellow for the course HIST 122: The Making of the Modern World.
Eric was nominated for this award by multiple students in his seminar for HIST 122. In addition to creating engaging tutorials centered on fostering a love for history and an understanding of course material, Eric has been credited by students as providing an “astonishing level of support” to each individual, working hard to accommodate the different needs presented by his students. Connecting with students and providing them with the foundational skills needed to proceed in a History major is a difficult task to achieve, but Eric approached this challenge successfully, while ensuring his students left the course feeling fulfilled and more knowledgeable than they were on day one.
Katelyn Arac received the 2019-2020 Award in Teaching Excellence for a Teaching Fellow for the course HIST 390: The History of International Human Rights.
Katelyn is an individual who regularly demonstrates her willingness to go above and beyond for her students. Her dedication to course material, accommodation for various learning styles, and passion for her subject area was noted by her students as marks of a truly great instructor. As one of her students noted, while in the classroom, “her energy always shined through and created a positive environment that fostered productive discussions and meaningful coursework.” Outside of the classroom, her students commented on Katelyn’s kind and supportive nature, who always greeted them with a warm smile and went above and beyond to answer their questions. Finally, Katelyn’s creativity and willingness to adjust course material to demonstrate how critical and historical thinking can help us understand present day conflicts increased her students’ appreciation for the discipline as a whole.
