Faculty Recognized for Stellar Teaching and Scholarship

Professors in the Arts and Sciences received awards from the Office of the Dean of Faculty.

Each year, the Office of the Dean of Faculty of Arts and Sciences recognizes faculty members for exceptional teaching, scholarship, and service.

"Our outstanding faculty blend scholarship and teaching well beyond formal classroom instruction," says Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Elizabeth Smith. "I have been deeply inspired by their unwavering dedication to our students and to the highest caliber research and creative work—even as we navigated the pandemic."

Nancy Jay Crumbine, associate professor and senior lecturer emeritus at the Institute for Writing and Rhetoric, received the Dean of Faculty Teaching Award. She studies moments of insight in literature—and tries to create those in the classroom. "While many students have written that taking my courses changed their lives, I believe they changed their own lives by learning to listen to each other and the course readings, a particular kind of listening which is the prerequisite to finding their own unique voice," says Crumbine. 

Emily Walton, associate professor of sociology and recipient of the Elizabeth Howland Hand-Otis Norton Pierce Award, also fosters a sense of community in the classroom. "I try to model authenticity and vulnerability, so students and I can develop together as scholars and activists," Walton says.

Each year the Robert A. Fish 1918 Memorial Prize is awarded to a newly retired faculty member to commemorate a career of contributions to undergraduate teaching at Dartmouth. "I came to Dartmouth because I wanted to teach," says Thomas Cormen, professor of computer science emeritus and this year's recipient. "My role as a mentor was important to me, whether it was inspiring students who took the introductory computer science course from me to major in the subject, or the several undergraduates who did research with me, often leading to published papers," he says.

The recipient of the Jerome Goldstein Award is based on student input. The other Dean of Faculty award winners are selected by the deans of divisions within Arts and Sciences.

Richard Wright, professor of geography and recipient of the Dean of Faculty Award for Outstanding Mentoring and Advising, retired this year and looks back fondly on his scholarship and teaching at Dartmouth. "What also gave me joy was helping students and colleagues navigate the College and the academy," he says. "A note from a student sums up this part of my professional life: 'Thank you for placing me on a pipeline to a PhD, for giving me the freedom to create a project that was wholeheartedly mine, and for reminding me that academia is nothing without great questions and a better sense of humor.'"

Here are the 2022 Dean of Faculty of Arts and Sciences awardees:

Douglas Bolger
Professor of Environmental Studies
Frank J. Guarini Award for Extraordinary Contribution to Off-Campus Programs

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Douglas Bolger

Vaughn Booker
Associate Professor of African and African American Studies and Religion 
John M. Manley Huntington Award for Newly Tenured Faculty

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Vaughn Booker

Thomas Cormen
Professor of Computer Science Emeritus
Robert A. Fish 1918 Memorial Prize


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Thomas Cormen

Nancy Jay Crumbine
Associate Professor and Senior Lecturer Emeritus, Institute for Writing and Rhetoric
Dean of Faculty Teaching Award


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Nancy Jay Crumbine

Jeremy DeSilva
Professor of Anthropology
John M. Manley Huntington Award for Newly Promoted Faculty

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Jeremy DeSilva

Elizabeth Kassler-Taub
Assistant Professor of Art History
Class of 1962 Faculty Fellowship


Chenfeng Ke
Associate Professor of Chemistry
Karen Wetterhahn Memorial Award for Distinguished Creative or Scholarly Achievement


Meredith Kelly
Professor of Earth Sciences
John M. Manley Huntington Award for Newly Promoted Faculty

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Meredith Kelly

Nicholas Reo
Associate Professor of Indigenous Environmental Studies
Jerome Goldstein Award for Distinguished Teaching

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Nicholas Reo

Justin Strauss
Associate Professor of Earth Sciences
Karen Wetterhahn Memorial Award for Distinguished Creative or Scholarly Achievement

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Justin Strauss

Patricia Stuelke
Associate Professor of English
John M. Manley Huntington Award for Newly Tenured Faculty

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Patricia Stuelke

Zaneta Thayer
Associate Professor of Anthropology
Frank J. Guarini Award for Extraordinary Contribution to Off-Campus Programs

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Zaneta Thayer

Emily Walton
Associate Professor of Sociology, Director, Society of Fellows
Elizabeth Howland Hand-Otis Norton Pierce Award


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Emily Walton

Richard Wright
Professor of Geography
Dean of the Faculty Award for Outstanding Mentoring and Advising


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Richard Wright

Many additional faculty members in the Arts and Sciences received senior research grants, scholarly innovation and advancement awards, and grants from the Leslie Center for the Humanities, the Nelson A. Rockefeller Center, and the Neukom Institute for Computational Science.