Kirker And Turns To Receive Eisenhower Awards

4-3-97

University Park, Pa. -- The 1997 winners of the Milton S. Eisenhower Award for Distinguished Teaching are Constance Kirker, assistant professor of integrative arts, and Stephen R. Turns, professor of mechanical engineering.

The two faculty members will be honored during the Faculty/Staff Awards ceremony at 4 p.m., Sunday, April 6, at the Penn State Scanticon Conference Hotel.

Kirker consistently earns outstanding ratings from her students at Penn State Delaware County Campus and has made profound contributions to her campus in internationalizing its curriculum and bringing multicultural perspectives to undergraduate studies.

She is responsible for developing two well-subscribed independent learning courses in Japanese and Chinese art history in addition to a Cultures Semester program with a core of six thematically-linked courses that have attracted Fulbright scholars from Hong Kong and Latin America. The Cultures Semester surrounds the entire campus with festive decorations, art and music programs, lectures and banquets. Kirker collaborates with faculty, staff and students across all disciplines, inspiring others with her enthusiasm and energy.

"Teaching, for me, is like a box of 64 brand new crayons. There is no limit to what you can do with all that spectacular potential, just as there is no limit to what you may accomplish with all the varied faces in the classroom and the simply breathtaking beauty of all the world's art as your subject matter,'" says Kirker. Her guiding principle in developing the curriculum for 14 courses in the arts and diversity is to bring her excitement of the subject matter to her students.

"Connie is a legend in her own time," says a Delaware County Campus colleague. "Connie never believes anything is beyond her vision, no matter how grand. She is creative and innovative, a font of endless energy, a volunteer who helps others at the drop of a hat; adventurous and supportive, she brings to the campus new avenues of enrichment on a continuous basis. She is really too good to be true!"

Dr. Stephen Turns' contributions to the teaching mission of his department have also been many, with more than 15 years leading class discussions in Penn State's mechanical engineering department. He is the author of a recently published undergraduate textbook, "An Introduction to Combustion: Concepts and Applications," that has received outstanding reviews and has been adopted by more than 25 schools in its first year of publication. Turns has also been instrumental in the development of experimental laboratories and as a role model to both undergraduate and graduate faculty.

According to Turns, his teaching approach is grounded in two fundamental beliefs: that the instructor's attitude toward his or her students is key to fostering a productive learning environment and that showing a genuine love and enthusiasm of the subject matter motivates the students to learn. Turns says that providing various contexts for the subject matter is also important -- applying engineering principles to real-world experiences.

In addition to learning the names of all of his students, even with enrollments up to 100, Turns provides his students with plenty of feedback, often answering questions and inquiries with a hand-written note.

"Although I maintain a balance among the teaching, research and service components of professing, teaching is my first love," says Turns. "A genuinely positive attitude toward one's students makes teaching much more fun and rewarding. When tempted to take a short cut or in some way 'short-change' my students, I visualize one of my sons in the class. Then I ask the question, 'What would I want for him?'"

A former student, describes Turns as attentive and challenging. "There are those who teach because it is a required part of their job, and then there are professors like Dr. Turns who teach because they truly enjoy it. Dr. Turns has an addictive enthusiasm for the thermal science courses he teaches, and his students can't help but share his interest. He has taught me more than thermal science fundamentals; he has taught me how to think logically and approach engineering problems with confidence."

Recalls the student: "If at any point during the lecture he saw a student with a confused expression or a blank look, he would backtrack and explain the topic in a different manner. He cared that we were all comprehending his lesson plan. He challenged us to apply what we learned."

The Milton S. Eisenhower Award for Distinguished Teaching recognizes outstanding efforts among Penn State's tenured faculty, employed full-time for at least five years, with undergraduate teaching as a major portion of their duties. Milton S. Eisenhower was president of Penn State from 1950 to 1956.

**kiw**

Contact: Karen Wagner (814) 863-4512 (office) kiw1@psu.edu
Christy Rambeau (814) 865-7517 (office) cmr7@psu.edu