Daily Egyptian Reporter 15

For Brian Akers, a man who has dedicated his life to educating others, teaching is his utmost priority.

Teaching, above all personal goals and accomplishments, comes first, Akers, a doctoral student in SIUC’s Department of

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Akers is one of two doctoral students recognized in October by Academic Affairs for outstanding teaching in basic courses of the SIUC curriculum.

The award represents the University’s appreciation of the role

that instructors play, Akers said.

Althea Rhodes, a doctoral student in English from Carbondale and co-recipient of the inaugural award, emphasized the importance of the award.

Teachers do not get enough recognition, Rhodes said. In that respect, this award is very important.

Rhodes, who also serves as a teaching mentor for fellow graduate assistants, said she relishes the opportunity to play an influential role in her students’ academic lives.

A lot of students come to me with an attitude toward writing

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of I can’t’, Rhodes said. My objective is to change that I can’t’ to an

Akers shares a similar passion for interacting with his students. Akers was honored for his work in PLB 115 and PLB 117, in which 113 students gave him high evaluations. He received an overall teaching evaluation of a 4.65 on a 5-point scale.

It’s one thing to be an expert or to have a Ph.D., Akers said.

It’s another thing to be able to relate that information to others who are not experts who don’t have Ph.D.s.

While Akers was appreciative of the award, he said it was not the most important thing.

The greatest honor was learning that I was nominated, Akers

Rhodes, on the other hand, views the nomination and the

award as having equal significance.

Both were an honor, Rhodes said. Being nominated was a nice

surprise and winning was the icing on the cake.

Donald Tindall, chairman of the Department of Biology and supporter of Akers’ nomination, said Akers was well deserving of the award.

Brian Akers certainly exemplifies the type of teaching

assistant that the core curriculum program truly desires, Tindall said.

David Blakesley, an associate professor in English, nominated Rhodes and extended similar acclaim for his nominee.

What really sets her apart is that Althea is a kind, creative and supportive mentor, he said.

Once nominations had been submitted, the final decision rested in the hands of the Core Curriculum Executive Council.

A.J. Morey, director of University Core Curriculum, stressed the importance of such an award.

We feel that teaching assistants in the core curriculum are not sufficiently recognized, Morey said. Students aren’t generally interested in core classes, and that makes a teachers assistant’s job that much more difficult.

Regardless of the $250 that both winners received, the inherent gratitude of the honor was reward enough.

The acknowledgment, itself, is entirely rewarding, Akers said.

Rhodes put forth a similar sentiment.

Most importantly, the award was a validation of my teaching, Rhodes said. In short, it says that I’m doing my job.