Five Faculty Earn Excellence in Teaching Honors</h1> <article> <h1>Five Faculty Earn Excellence in Teaching Honors</h1> <p>eburnett — Thu, 14 Mar 2024 14:48:43 +0000</p> <span>Five Faculty Earn Excellence in Teaching Honors</span> <span><span>eburnett</span></span> <span><time datetime="2024-03-14T10:48:43-04:00" title="Thursday, March 14, 2024 - 10:48">Thu, 03/14/2024 - 10:48</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Five �鶹��Ƶ faculty members have been recognized with Excellence in Teaching Awards for the 2022-23 academic year.</p> <p>Presented annually, the awards recognize faculty in the college and conservatory who have demonstrated sustained and distinctive excellence in the classroom and beyond.</p> <p>Though they approach their teaching across widely varied disciplines, the honorees are united by several key characteristics, says <a href="/node/4921">David Kamitsuka</a>, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences:</p> <p style="margin-left: 40px;">“All of them are beloved and visionary teachers, they are deeply admired by their colleagues, they do a superb job connecting their area of expertise to its importance in real life, and they find great joy and meaning in the growth of their students.”</p> <p>A dinner reception was held March 11 at the home of President Carmen Twillie Ambar. The honorees (pictured above at the reception) are as follows:</p> <p><strong><a href="/node/6671">Jay Ashby</a><br> Associate Professor of Jazz Studies<br> Teacher of Jazz Composition and Trombone<br> Director of the Division of Jazz Studies</strong></p> <p>Dean of the Conservatory <a href="/node/49511">Bill Quillen</a> praises Jay Ashby’s commitment to students, his stewardship of the <a href="/node/3231">Division of Jazz Studies</a>, and his development of the Performance and Improvisation program, as well as his ongoing ties to �鶹��Ƶ athletics as co-chair of the General Faculty Athletics Committee.</p> <p>“Jay Ashby has played a leading role in continuing the legacy of jazz studies at �鶹��Ƶ, and he works tirelessly in support of our students,” Quillen says. “He has expanded the realm of jazz studies and created opportunities not just for our jazz students, but for students across our campus.”</p> <hr> <p><strong><a href="/node/6761">Jonathan Moyer</a><br> David S. Boe Associate Professor of Organ<br> Chair of the Organ Department</strong></p> <p>“Jonathan Moyer is one of the most outstanding organ performers and pedagogues in America,” Quillen says. “He stands out not only for his artistic excellence, but also for his deep-seated care for his students. He has continued �鶹��Ƶ’s rich tradition of organ study and placed the students and their needs at the heart of everything he does.”</p> <p>Quillen praises Moyer for his commitment to creating immersive learning experiences in organ centers across Europe and fostering career connections for his students throughout Northeast Ohio and around the world.</p> <hr> <p><strong><span id="cke_bm_37257S" style="display: none;"> </span>Lynn Powell<br> Emerita Assistant Professor of Creative Writing<br> Director of �鶹��Ƶ Writers in the Schools</strong></p> <p>Kamitsuka cites Lynn Powell’s extraordinary and longstanding commitment to the <a href="/node/3221">Creative Writing Department</a> and the community. For more than two decades, she provided visionary leadership to �鶹��Ƶ’s <a href="/node/178921">Writers in the Schools</a> program, a collaboration between the college and �鶹��Ƶ public schools. “It’s truly unimaginable how much work Lynn has put into this labor of love,” Kamitsuka says of Powell, who retired in summer 2023.</p> <p> </p> <hr> <p><strong><a href="/node/5706"><span id="cke_bm_37257E" style="display: none;"> </span></a></strong></p> <p><strong><a href="/node/5261">Lisa Ryno</a><br> Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry</strong></p> <p>“What is so impressive about Lisa Ryno is her incredible efforts and success in involving students in every facet of her research,” says Kamitsuka. “No one has done more than Lisa to ensure that all students thrive.” Kamitsuka notes that Ryno spearheaded—while on sabbatical—implementation of the Chemistry Climate Survey, which was intended to assess students’ sense of belonging and engagement with the department.</p> <p>Ryno’s many student collaborations are evidenced in the great number of student researchers who participate with <a href="/undergraduate-research">�鶹��Ƶ Undergraduate Research</a> and present at departmental symposiums—and also in the contingent of five students who will present alongside Ryno at the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology conference this month in San Antonio.</p> <p>“Nothing is better than watching someone gain confidence in the lab and take ownership of their project,” Ryno says.</p> <hr> <p><strong><a href="/node/5706">Md Rumi Shammin</a><br> Professor of Environmental Studies<br> Director of the Environmental Studies Program</strong></p> <p>“Rumi Shammin models genuine modesty and humility as the foundation of all learning,” says Kamitsuka.</p> <p>Shammin is regarded among students and fellow faculty as a master of group projects and collaborative work, including his National Science Foundation-funded project “Perspective-Taking and Systems-Thinking for Complex Problem Solving.” Shammin founded <a href="/node/3196">Environmental Studies</a>’ Career Day, which offers a highly successful model for forging professional connections.</p> <hr> <p><strong>About the Excellence in Teaching Awards:</strong> Each year, College of Arts and Sciences faculty are selected for consideration through nominations presented to the College Faculty Council, which are then reviewed by a faculty committee. An award is presented in each division of the college: arts and humanities, social and behavioral sciences, and natural sciences and mathematics. The conservatory dean recommends a number of conservatory faculty to the Conservatory Faculty Council for consideration, and together they review and narrow the recommendations to two recipients.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-subhead field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Annual awards celebrate distinguished and sustained leadership across the college and conservatory.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2024-03-14T12:00:00Z">Thu, 03/14/2024 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Communications Staff</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2583">College of Arts and Sciences</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2356">Conservatory</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2373">Awards and Honors</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=34896">Jazz Composition</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=34691">Jazz Performance</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25351">Environmental Studies and Sciences</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25326">Creative Writing</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25246">Biochemistry</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25306">Chemistry</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=28886">Historical Performance</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=40211">Historical Keyboard Instruments</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=32966">Organ</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-faculty field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/jay-ashby" hreflang="und">Jay Ashby</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/jonathan-william-moyer" hreflang="und">Jonathan William Moyer</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/lisa-ryno" hreflang="und">Lisa Ryno</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/md-rumi-shammin" hreflang="und">Md Rumi Shammin</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/conservatory/divisions/jazz-studies" hreflang="und">Jazz Studies</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/conservatory/divisions/historical-performance" hreflang="und">Historical Performance</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/conservatory/divisions/keyboard-studies" hreflang="und">Keyboard Studies</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/environmental-studies" hreflang="und">Environmental Studies and Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/chemistry-biochemistry" hreflang="und">Chemistry and Biochemistry</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/creative-writing" hreflang="und">Creative Writing</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">�鶹��Ƶ’s 2022-23 Excellence in Teaching honorees (from left): Jonathan Moyer, Lisa Ryno, Rumi Shammin, Lynn Powell, and Jay Ashby.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Scott Shaw</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Bridge to History</h1> <p>eburnett — Thu, 14 Oct 2021 17:07:39 +0000</p> <span>Bridge to History</span> <span><span>eburnett</span></span> <span><time datetime="2021-10-14T13:07:39-04:00" title="Thursday, October 14, 2021 - 13:07">Thu, 10/14/2021 - 13:07</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>�鶹��Ƶ is celebrated the world over for its <a href="/organ">prodigious collection of pipe organs</a>—some 32 of them in all, representing 500 years of building practice across Europe.</p> <p>This month, the celebration turns inward as the conservatory honors the 40th anniversary of one of its most remarkable instruments: The Mary McIntosh Bridge Memorial Organ, Opus 25, which has been perched since 1981 in the gallery of Fairchild Chapel, �鶹��Ƶ’s Gothic-inspired worship and performance space in Bosworth Hall. Four October concerts will pay tribute to the organ and utilize it extensively.</p> <figure class="captioned-image obj-right"> <figcaption>Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck</figcaption> </figure> <p><a href="https://calendar.oberlin.edu/event/a_concert_in_honor_of_the_400th_anniversary_of_the_death_of_jan_pieterszoon_sweelinck_faculty_and_guest_concert">It all starts Saturday, October 16</a>, with a 4:30 p.m. faculty and guest recital in which �鶹��Ƶ historical performance faculty members <a href="/node/6761">Jonathan Moyer,</a> <a href="/node/6661">Mark Edwards</a>, and <a href="/node/128861">Christa Rakich</a> will take turns at the organ for works by the influential Dutch composer and organist Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck. Also featured will be guest keyboardist Kevin Birch, who will perform on a newly commissioned clavichord that shares the same keyboard layout and other characteristics of the Bridge Organ. The concert falls exactly on the 400th anniversary of Sweelinck’s death. <a href="https://calendar.oberlin.edu/event/a_concert_in_honor_of_the_400th_anniversary_of_the_death_of_jan_pieterszoon_sweelinck_faculty_and_guest_concert">Visit the campus events calendar</a> for a complete list of works to be performed.</p> <p>Inspired by the early 17th century organs of northern Germany and the Netherlands, which were played by Sweelinck and contemporaries such as Michael Praetorius, �鶹��Ƶ’s Bridge Organ is considered one of the most significant historically inspired organs of the 20th century—and one that inspired the creation of countless other instruments that followed.</p> <p>It was built by John Brombaugh, one of the nation’s most acclaimed organ builders, who crafted some 66 pipe organs during a career that spanned more than four decades. Early in his career, Brombaugh translated his fascination with early organs of Europe into his own work—at a time when historical building practices were dismissed by many. �鶹��Ƶ’s Bridge Organ is tuned in mean tone, a nod to organs of the Baroque and Renaissance periods, but an extreme rarity among modern organs at the time of its construction.</p> <figure class="captioned-image obj-right"> <figcaption>Jonathan Moyer</figcaption> </figure> <p>Moyer, chair of �鶹��Ƶ’s Organ Department, cites the instrument’s three-tiered legacy: It is renowned for the quality of its build, for the research it has supported in the study of tuning systems and the interpretation of early music repertoire, and for the countless �鶹��Ƶ organists whose musical lives were changed through access to the Bridge Organ.</p> <p>“Its significance has been far reaching, perhaps most notably for the ways in which it opened up entirely new performance possibilities for organists without access to the finest historic organs of Europe,” says Moyer, himself a 2012 Artist Diploma graduate of �鶹��Ƶ.</p> <p>“For the musicians who have performed on this instrument over the past 40 years, it has had a profound influence on their playing, on their musicianship, and on their ability to interpret this music. There’s nowhere else in America where you can play the music of Sweelinck and Praetorius in this way.”</p> <p>The celebration continues with a Saturday, October 30, recital in Fairchild Chapel by guest organist William Porter ’68, a former organ professor at �鶹��Ƶ who presided over the installation of the Bridge Organ in 1981. He will be joined by longtime conservatory faculty member <a href="/node/6666">Michael Lynn</a> on recorder.</p> <p>It will be followed on Sunday, October 31, with a pair of events, also both in Fairchild: a 2:30 p.m. recital featuring �鶹��Ƶ organ alumni, and a 7:30 vespers concert with Porter, faculty members Moyer and Rakich, and Collegium Musicum, �鶹��Ƶ’s early music vocal ensemble, led by musicology professor <a href="/node/6921">Steven Plank</a>.</p> <p>Brombaugh is slated to return to �鶹��Ƶ for the October 30-31 festivities.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-subhead field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Celebration of �鶹��Ƶ’s Bridge Memorial Organ begins with Oct. 16 recital; continues Oct. 30-31.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2021-10-13T12:00:00Z">Wed, 10/13/2021 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Erich Burnett</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2356">Conservatory</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=32966">Organ</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=40211">Historical Keyboard Instruments</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-faculty field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/jonathan-william-moyer" hreflang="und">Jonathan William Moyer</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/conservatory/divisions/keyboard-studies" hreflang="und">Keyboard Studies</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/conservatory/divisions/historical-performance" hreflang="und">Historical Performance</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Yevhen Gulenko</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> </main></body></html>