Kaylee Jones
Assistant Managing Editor
Two Cameron University professors have added their names to the prestigious honor roll plaque for the Harold and Elizabeth Hackler Teaching Excellence Award.
Dr. Jenel Cavazos, assistant professor of psychology, and Monika Linehan, associate professor of art, are the 2013 recipients of the award. Originally created in 1996, the Hackler award recognizes CU faculty for “outstanding contributions” to the lives of Cameron students.
Recipients must be regular full-time faculty members for three years, hold an appointment as an assistant professor or higher, and they must be nominated by faculty or students.
Having joined Cameron faculty in 2010, Cavazos said she was surprised to hear she would be receiving the award.
“I’d heard about the award since I started working at Cameron, but I always assumed it went to teachers who were more established in their careers,” Cavazos wrote after receiving the award. “It was [and is] such an amazing honor, and I’m so thankful for it.”
Linehan also conveyed surprise after hearing the news.
“It definitely was not something I expected, given the number of excellent teachers at Cameron. I was deeply moved that my students and chair thought highly enough of me to nominate me for this prestigious award.”
CU alumna Blagica Ristovska nominated Linehan for the award, writing that Linehan pushes her students not to settle for the average in their art.
Linehan explained her experiences in the work force are what encourage her to demand nothing less than excellent work from her students.
“Before coming to Cameron, I had a long and successful career in my chosen field of art as a graphic designer for an international firm,” Linehan wrote. “There is no room for ‘average’ in any area of art. Therefore, if I want my students to succeed, it is my duty to push them to go beyond average.”
Nominated by senior Communication major Hannah Smart, Cavazos said she was moved to read Smart’s recommendation regarding Cavazos’ willingness to make herself available to CU students.
“I was very touched to read what [Smart] wrote and to know that my teaching made a difference in her life,” Cavazos wrote. “That’s why we do what we do, after all.”
Cavazos said having a 12-year-old daughter helps her to remember to relate to her students.
“I think a lot of professors sort of get comfortable doing what they’ve been doing for a long time, and they forget to take into consideration that the world around our students is changing,” Cavazos wrote. “I try to meet the students where they are now. I keep very current with technology.”
Regarding her own teaching methods, Linehan wrote: “A professor first and foremost must get to know and treat students as individuals with unique strengths, weaknesses and learning styles. Only by showing genuine interest in students as individuals can a professor challenge, guide and nurture students.”
Both Cavazos and Linehan will receive a stipend and grant, through the Hackler endowment, to use for teaching materials and curriculum development.
“My hope is to use the grant in a way that will benefit the largest number of students possible,” Linehan wrote.
Cavazos and Linehan officially received their awards on Nov. 14 at a reception on Cameron’s Duncan campus.