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Distinguished teacher and Swords Medal recipients honored
The annual fall faculty convocation and awards ceremony was held on Sept. 20 in Brooks Concert Hall. The event honored biology professor George Hoffmann, the recipient of the 2005 Holy Cross Distinguished Teaching Award.
The Holy Cross Distinguished Teaching Award recognizes and honors the teaching excellence of the College's faculty. A committee of students, faculty, alumni and administrators selects the honoree after careful review of nominations from individuals and groups on campus. Recipients demonstrate the College's commitment to teaching and personalized instruction by making ideas come alive for students both in and out of the classroom. The Distinguished Teacher is invited to give the principal address during the Faculty Convocation and is awarded a $1,000 honorarium.
"Members of the Selection Committee were extraordinarily impressed by the testimonials received from George's colleagues and from current and former students," says Stephen C. Ainlay, vice president for academic affairs and dean of the College. "Members were struck by the consensus among those who nominated him about the traits that made him a distinguished teacher."
A colleague described the enthusiasm Hoffmann brings to the classroom: "George spends an enormous amount of time incorporating current material into his lecture notes and lab manuals in order to keep both as up-to-date as possible."
A member of the Holy Cross faculty since 1981, Hoffmann earned his Ph.D. at the University of Tennessee; he had appointments as a National Institutes of Health postdoctoral fellow, senior staff officer at the National Academy of Sciences and visiting scientist at Oak Ridge Associated Universities. Hoffmann has distinguished himself by his many research papers, essays, editorials, book reviews and abstracts. He has also served as president of the Environmental Mutagen Society and the Mutagenesis Association of New England.
The Raymond J. Swords, S.J., Faculty Medal honors those members of the faculty who have served the College for 25 years or more. This year's recipients were: Susan L. Berman, associate professor emerita of biology; David M. Hummon, professor of sociology; Mary Lee Ledbetter, professor of biology; John B. Little III, professor of mathematics; Rev. Philip C. Rule, S.J., professor emeritus of English; and Jorge H. Valdés, associate professor of Spanish.
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