Bandik, Kameen, Ramirez, Stricker to Receive CAS Teaching Excellence Awards

• Beverly Harris-Schenz, associate dean in the College of Arts and Science, recently announced the winners of the 2001 Tina and David Bellet Teaching Excellence Awards.
• This year's honorees are George C. Bandik, Department of Chemistry; Paul Kameen, Department of English; John C. Ramirez, Department of Computer Science; and Edward M. Stricker, Department of Neuroscience.
• "Each of these award recipients has made unique and meaningful contributions to the quality of undergraduate teaching within the College of Arts and Sciences," said Harris-Schenz. "The awards are so important because they underscore the value we place on undergraduate education at the college."
• The winners all receive a one-time cash prize of $2000 and a grant of $3000 in support of their teaching. They also will be honored at a dinner of April 21, at 6 p.m. in the ballroom of the William Pitt Student Union.
• Kenneth Leslie Gage, a Ph.D. candidate and student of Ramirez, said Ramirez was effective both as a teacher and as a mentor. "One of the strongest endorsements I can provide is that I plan to emulate his teaching style when I begin instructing students of my own in the years to come," Gage said.
• The computer science department has consistently recognized Ramirez for high quality instruction, based on official student evaluations, by presenting him with the departmental award for "the highest rating of overall teaching effectiveness." Ramirez is the only faculty member to receive this rating 12 times.
• In addition to teaching, Ramirez also serves as director of the undergraduate program, coordinator of undergraduate advising, and faculty advisor to the Student Chapter of the Association for Computer Machinery (ACM), which recently has been re-activated.