The Mabel S. Fry Award for Teaching Excellence recognizes the efforts of a faculty member who demonstrates excellence in both classroom teaching and graduate student mentoring.
Some elements that are considered in the selection include:
Congratulations to From the nominating letter: 25 March 2011 SAGE Mabel S. Fry Award CommitteeThe University of Kansas Department of English 1445 Jayhawk Blvd. Lawrence, KS 66045 Dear Mabel S. Fry Committee: I am writing to recommend Professor Giselle Liza Anatol for the 2011 Mabel S. Fry Award. Professor Anatol’s dedication to her students, as evidenced by her record of excellent teaching, thoughtful mentoring, and committed service, distinguishes her as an ideal candidate for this honor. I find Professor Anatol's work in the classroom to be both inspired and inspiring. In her Vampire Literature of the African Diaspora graduate course, Professor Anatol makes the time spent in class directly relevant to her students' professional lives. She helps students further their research by working with them to develop course topics in ways that advance their particular scholarly interests. Additionally, she challenges those taking the class to practice their own pedagogical approaches to course material by giving individual or group presentations and leading conference-style discussion circles. As a student in Professor Anatol's Vampire Literature course (2007) and as a grader for her undergraduate Literature for Children courses (2009), I know that she trusts graduate and undergraduate students alike to direct their learning experiences and choose the focus of their research projects. I can attest that Professor Anatol's style of classroom instruction—her ability to meet her students' needs and interests and her faith that students can help teach one another as well—has greatly influenced my own pedagogy. Through her steady guidance and dedication to her students' professional development, Professor Anatol has established a model of mentorship to which I aspire. She regularly extends her work with her students beyond the bounds of an individual semester or school year. Following my work with her in the Vampire Literature course, Professor Anatol met with me several times to help me turn the essay I wrote for her class into a conference paper and, later, a professional publication. Moreover, as the chair of my comprehensive exam and dissertation committees, Professor Anatol has helped me find texts that bolster my research, given me detailed feedback on numerous drafts, and assisted me with fellowship applications. She has supported me by writing formal letters of recommendation and helping me network with her colleagues at KU and other universities. Even more inspiring than these efforts has been Professor Anatol's attitude toward my work. I have found that she unfailingly approaches her students' scholarship with optimism and enthusiasm. As many of her students will attest, Professor Anatol makes us feel like our work means something, that it has a place in our field of study and the larger world of academia, which is no small task considering the current job market and the push for graduate students to professionalize early in their academic careers. Professor Anatol commits herself to the Department of English not only through her work as a teacher and mentor but also through her scholarly pursuits. In the last few years, Professor Anatol has edited two essay collections on the Harry Potter series as well as a collection on Twilight, published more than a dozen articles on topics ranging from vampires in Caribbean literature to women of color in the classroom, and presented papers at numerous local, national, and international conferences. Her work has increased the profile of our department in the university, as is evidenced by her 2007 invited lecture at the Hall Center, as well as throughout the academy, which is illustrated by her renown as a scholar of children's literature and African-Diasporic fiction and science fiction. What might be most unique about Professor Anatol's scholarly pursuits, however, is the way she uses her successes to help her students gain experience in the world of publishing. Professor Anatol turns her achievements as a scholar into opportunities for her students. Current and former graduate students in the Department of English have articles forthcoming in Professor Anatol's edited collection on Twilight, and I was granted the opportunity to create an index for the publication (similarly, another KU English graduate student created the index for her second Harry Potter collection). I would also like to mention Professor Anatol's commitment to recognizing the accomplishments of graduate and undergraduate students in the Department of English. As the long-standing chair of the Awards Committee, Professor Anatol works to ensure that our successes are celebrated. By using this letter to bring attention to Professor Anatol's achievements as a teacher, mentor, and scholar, I hope to in some small way return this honor. Thank you for considering Professor Anatol for the 2011 Mabel S. Fry Award. Sincerely, Kristen Lillvis |
Click here to learn more about previous winners.
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