Bourus wins Claude Rich teaching award
June 1, 2006
KOKOMO, Ind.—An Indiana University Kokomo faculty committee unanimously chose Assistant Professor of English Terri Bourus, Ph.D., to receive the 2006 Claude Rich Award, a $3,000 prize considered the campus’ most prestigious teaching honor.
Announcing the award, Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Stuart Green read from the committee’s report: “Dr. Bourus’ dossier provided strong evidence of consistently excellent teaching and clearly meets all three criteria for the award: dedication to one’s teaching mission; depth of understanding of subject area and enlargement of content/elevation of intellectual level of courses; and ability to communicate with, work with, and arouse the intellectual curiosity of students. Dr. Bourus balances her use of multiple teaching methods to help students understand and appreciate Shakespeare.”
Bourus secured an IU New Frontiers in the Arts and Humanities grant that brought the professional Shakespearian troupe Actors From The London Stage to IU Kokomo this spring, for a week of workshops and performances. The visit inspired related humanities courses and a student-sponsored Renaissance Faire.
Bourus has presented her research regarding early printed versions of Shakespeare plays and the Bard’s work in performance at scholarly conferences in the United States and abroad. She recently edited an annotated version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream for Sourcebooks’ Shakespeare Series, and is working on a similar treatment of Hamlet for late fall release.
The award committee’s report also cited Bourus’ works mentoring undergraduate students on research projects and development of conference presentations. “Her teaching ‘stretches students’ in content, in application of the content to their lives, and in learning research methodologies,” the report read.
This year, Bourus also has received a teaching award from the Midwest Modern Language Association and the Amicus Award from the students of IU Kokomo.
“In earning this recognition, Dr. Bourus joins other Claude Rich Award honorees who have consistently raised the bar for excellence in teaching and learning on the Kokomo campus,” Green said. “Among a faculty that deservedly prides itself on being fine teachers, our Claude Rich winners stand out for their pedagogical innovation and deep commitment to student engagement and learning. Moreover, the recognition they receive is of the highest order, coming from their peers.”
Green expressed his thanks to the Claude Rich Committee “for the difficult work they do on our behalf and for representing their colleagues’ dedication to the centrality of teaching and learning on the Kokomo campus.”
