Two Creighton faculty members have recently been awarded the 2013 Professors of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). Physics professor Gintaras Duda won the National Professor of the Year award and psychology professor Matthew Huss won the Nebraska Professor of the Year award. Both professors accepted their awards at a luncheon at the Ronald Reagan Building and the International Trade Center in Washington D.C. earlier last month.
Duda was named the National Professor of the Year in the master’s category. The National Professor of the Year award acknowledges four of the most outstanding undergraduate professors in the country. These professors exceed as teachers and influence the lives and careers of students. Duda was chosen from a group of more than 350 top professors from four categories: baccalaureate colleges, community colleges, doctoral and research universities and master’s universities.
“Dr. Duda has always had, from my experience, a rather unique method of teaching,” junior physics and mathematics major August Hagen said. “He made it clear that he was interested in shifting the aim of teaching away from the more established paradigms. Dr. Duda’s devotion toward discovering the best way to teach students has always set him apart from your run-of-the-mill teacher.”
He strives to use a combination of learning techniques, technology, experimenting with problems that mimic real-world situations and uses team-teaching approaches to maximize student learning. Duda has learned from research that the most effective learning requires mental effort and active participation.
“In quantum, we’ve had one lecture all year,” junior physics and mathematics major Benjamin Schmachtenberger said. “The rest of the course has been taught through tutorial packets. These are derivations and mathematical walkthroughs of the concepts of the course that we fill out ourselves, working together in small groups and collaborating with Dr. Duda. I like the way he has turned a traditional course lecture into a ‘learn it yourself by doing it’ approach.”
Duda has been at Creighton since 2003 and has since done large amounts of research. He, through computer-based calculations and pencil-and-paper theory has conducted his primary research on cosmology that focuses on dark matter, which is the mysterious, non-luminous substance that is almost all of the mass of the universe.
Not only has Duda gained appreciation for his excellent teaching methods, so has Dr. Matthew Huss, who has been named Nebraska Professor of the Year.
“I hope students learn that humanity is precious and diverse,” Huss said. “The types of things that I teach about often reveal the vulnerabilities and the imperfections of humanity.”
Students feel they receive an immense amount of attention and respect from Huss.
“He is one of those rare professors who is not only extremely intelligent and very knowledgeable, but also has a great sense of how people learn,” senior psychology and computer science major Alan Buttars said. “He expects a lot from his students and those he works with, always available to students who need extra help or guidance. No one gives more attention or respect to his students.”
Huss commented in a press release that his main focus in the classroom is to capture students’ attention and keep it. He does this by imparting information that is worthy of their time and inspires them to learn additionally on their own. Huss has published a forensic-clinical psychology textbook that many students find witty and very useful.
“I was asked to help revise its second edition. The book reads exactly as he teaches: clear, detailed, and engaging and with a lot of humor. I wish all my textbooks were as well-written as his,” Buttars said, reflecting on his experience of reading the textbook during his Forensic Psychology class with Huss his sophomore year.
Students and staff at Creighton fully believe that these professors embody the goal of Jesuit education, namely, the pursuit of truth. Schmachtenberger says that having two professors of the year from the same university shows that they are accomplishing what they have been set out to do.
“Both Dr. Duda and Dr. Huss truly embody the charisma of Jesuit Catholic education—both are devoted to their students as whole people (“cura personalis”) and strive to challenge students to develop their God-given talents to the utmost,” said Dr. Bridget Keegan, dean of the College of Arts & Sciences. “They are leaders on campus in innovative pedagogical approaches, and demonstrate the relevance of classroom learning to real world problems.”
Dr. Gintaras Duda received the Professor of the Year award early last month.
Dr. Matthew Huss was awarded the Nebraska Professor of the Year award earlier last month.