EUGENE–Two University of Oregon graduate students will receive public recognition and cash awards–in the form of 2000 UO Graduate Teaching Fellow Awards–for the outstanding quality of their classroom teaching and their enthusiasm as instructors.

One other graduate teaching fellow (GTF) will receive honorable mention for her teaching excellence.

Eugene residents Bayta Maring, a doctoral degree student in psychology, and Mark Meritt, a doctoral degree student in English, will receive their awards and a $500 honorarium at a brunch just before the university’s 123rd spring commencement ceremonies begin at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 10, at Hayward Field, 1580 E. 15th Ave.

Penelope Heinigk, a Germanic languages and literatures doctoral degree student from Eugene, will receive an honorable mention certificate and $150 during the pre-commencement ceremony.

Maring and Meritt were selected from among 40 graduate student nominees who represent teaching, research or service in more than 20 UO departments or programs. Finalists submitted a statement of their philosophy of teaching, and members of the selection committee observed the finalists in their classrooms before selecting the winners.

The university established the GTF teaching awards in cooperation with the UO chapter of Mortar Board, a national academic and service honorary society. The purpose of the awards, first presented in 1979, is to recognize excellence in teaching and academic guidance.

"Approximately 1,200 graduate students serve as teaching fellows for all or part of each year," says Marian Friestad, UO Graduate School dean. "They contribute an essential element to the teaching mission of the university. Quality teaching and diversity of instruction are enhanced by the presence of these highly talented, developing professionals."

Maring, 1425 S.W. 20th Ave., Portland, has taught both large lecture courses and small discussion groups in the Department of Psychology. She is recognized by her fellow GTFs for her enthusiasm for quality teaching, and her students comment on her energy and enthusiasm for psychology and her ability to clearly explain the material.

Maring says teaching can only be successful when the teacher learns as much from the students as the students gain from the teacher.

"A good teacher cannot just have passion for the subject matter," Maring says. "She must also appreciate the unique and valuable perspective that students have on the material."

Commenting on her selection for the award, Maring says she is extremely honored and deeply grateful. She also appreciates that the University of Oregon recognizes the efforts made by GTFs.

"I feel that many GTFs deserve this award," she says, explaining that "most GTFs do excellent work and they do it in the midst of their own stressful research and academic pursuits."

Meritt, 2035 W. 17th Ave., Eugene, spent two years as a teaching assistant at the University of California at Santa Barbara before coming to the University of Oregon three years ago. His UO students praise Meritt as an outstanding teacher who not only presents the technical aspects and strategies of writing, but encourages critical reading and thinking as well.

"I try to help my students not only to express their ideas clearly and confidently but also to look critically at the world in which they live out their daily lives," he says. "I just want them to try to see the world a little differently from the way they normally do. Maybe new perspectives will lead to new ways to solve problems in their communities and in their lives."

Heinigk, the honorable mention awardee, is a resident of 2250 Patterson St., Apt. 197, Eugene. She makes extensive use of technology, with the syllabus and other materials for her course posted on the web, and she is very accessible to her students, in class as well as during and outside of her scheduled office hours.

Of her teaching, she says, "My goal as a language instructor is to enable the transformation of my students into multilingual, culturally aware individuals. I strive to make the subject matter more exciting for my students by setting an example with my own enthusiasm and by getting to know my students so I can channel information to them that is relevant to their own interests."

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