"Best lecturer," "legendary teacher" to receive top awards
One highlight of Saturday"s (May 17) Tulane University Commencement ceremony is honoring outstanding teachers. Receiving 2014 President"s Awards for Graduate and Professional Teaching are Gary Dohanich, professor of psychology and neuroscience, and Diego Rose, professor of global community health and behavioral sciences. These honors recognize faculty members with a compelling record of excellence in teaching, learning and research, and a commitment to educational excellence. Each receives a medal designed by the late professor emeritus Franklin Adams and $5,000.
What sets Gary Dohanich apart “is the time and thoughtfulness that he willingly devotes to support individual graduate students,” says a Tulane colleague and a former student of Dohanich. His teaching skills “are legendary,” she says, and his mentoring of doctoral students has been a major influence on science at Tulane. A driving force in development of neuroscience as a discipline on campus, he is founder and co-director of the neuroscience master"s program and associate director of the PhD program.
One of the most popular professors in the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Diego Rose heads the nutrition section, and he has more than 30 years of experience in the field. When he joined Tulane in 2002, he redesigned the curriculum and has made a genuine impact with master"s and PhD students. “One of the best lecturers I"ve ever had,” one student says, while a former student writes, “To be so respected in your field, and still be humble and willing to mentor students, he sets a high bar for the profession.”
