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Monday, April 23, 2001
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University Council takes up lengthy agenda at final meeting
Gwinnett University Center CEO to speak at Graduate School Commencement
Gorbachev accepts Delta Prize for Global Understanding
Service planned for deceased UGA faculty, staff, students
Honors & Awards: Research Awards
Honors & Awards: Meigs Teaching Awards
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Honors & Awards: Russell Teaching Awards |
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| Three UGA faculty members will receive Richard B. Russell Awards for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching at the 2001 Faculty Recognition Banquet in the Georgia Center on April 26. Russell Awards recognize outstanding teaching of undergraduates by faculty in their first decade of teaching. Winners receive $5,000 from the Richard B. Russell Foundation of Atlanta. |
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David H. Downs
Assistant Professor of Real Estate |
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 David Downs is creating a rare phenomenon: His students want more class time. Evaluation comments range from “I wouldn’t have minded meeting longer” to “I’m sad it’s over.”
Student evaluations from his real estate courses in the Terry College of Business reflect enlightenment and inspiration that runs much deeper than mastering the next real estate transaction. Downs’s skill, enthusiasm and sense of humor combine to give students an appreciation for creative thought and the learning process. His students leave with more confidence in their capacity to think, to learn and to grow.
“He had an ability to captivate me during every lecture, inspiring me to do my best work and motivating me to acquire an actual hunger for learning like few teachers can,” says former student Anthony Burnette.
Downs transforms the classroom into an arena for formulating questions and seeking answers so that his students discover untapped thought processes and capabilities.
“Throughout the year, I gained a greater appreciation for learning and found I could creatively come up with solutions for questions I never thought I would have been able to solve without additional help,” says Denise McGarry, another former student. “Dr. Downs helped me gain confidence in my problem-solving abilities by encouraging me to approach issues from different perspectives. His special style of inquiry allowed students to generate fresh ideas.”
Downs utilizes the case study approach so that students can connect classroom learning with actual events and situations from the business world.
One student describes Downs as “one of the few instructors I have had who truly cared about his students. He demonstrates a genuine concern that students understand the material in an academic and real-world sense.”
One student even admitted, “He is without a doubt the best professor I’ve ever had. I’d like to take this class again because I know I’d learn something new.”
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Benjamin C. Ayers
Assistant Professor of Accounting |
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Most students would agree that tax research is not a particularly engaging subject.
How, then, does it follow that in recent years almost half of Terry College accounting  students have decided to pursue careers in taxation? Many point to Ben Ayers, an assistant professor in the J.M. Tull School of Accounting.
One student says, “Dr. Ayers has an enthusiasm for the subject matter which is phenomenal--considering it is tax!”
Ayers teaches both introduction to tax and tax research. Both courses are used by students deciding whether or not to specialize in taxation.
Despite the challenging nature of these courses, student evaluations consistently mention Ayers as “one of the best teachers I’ve ever had.”
Even professional recruiters cite Ayers as the reason so many students are choosing taxation as a career.
“Every student I have interviewed has glowing remarks about Dr. Ayers,” says Anthony Weigle, a recruiter with Arthur Andersen. “He is tough but fair, and they all indicate that it is because of his professionalism that they chose taxation as a career. I wish there were more teachers who exhibited such enormous positive influence over students’ career choices.”
Former student Glenn Dedeaux says Ayers is “by far the most outstanding professor that I had during my college career. The thing that separates Dr. Ayers from other professors is his ability to earn the respect of students while still challenging them to perform at their highest level possible.”
Ayers proves time and again that he is concerned with his students’ success both inside and outside the classroom, and the motivation he inspires in students extends well beyond accounting.
Colleague Linda Bamber says, “Professor Ayers’s success stems from his passion to inspire each individual student to achieve his or her own potential, and his commitment to do all he can to support that growth.”
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Reuben May
Assistant Professor of Sociology |
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 Since coming here in 1996, Reuben May has had an extraordinary impact on his students.
“I have a great deal of respect for Dr. May’s character, intelligence and extreme passion for teaching,” says one former student. “He did teach me about sociology, but more importantly he taught me how to look at the world from a different perspective, and for that I thank him from the bottom of my heart.”
May has been getting that kind of reaction from students since his first day here.
“Students as well as his colleagues are lavish in their praise for Dr. May’s work in his courses,” says sociology department head E.M. Beck. “He is appreciated for his exacting standards, his skill at presenting and explaining complex ideas, his approachable style and his willingness to work long hours with students having problems with course material.”
May has taught numerous courses, including the sociology of urban life, the sociology of sport, and race relations. He is also the author of a forthcoming book from New York University Press, Talking at Trena’s: Everyday Conversation at an African American Tavern, as well as numerous papers in scholarly journals.
May, in fact, developed the course in the sociology of sport and completely revamped the sociology of urban life course. He has also directed Honors theses and developed a classroom discussion format he calls “Frankly Speaking,” which allows students to ask questions of each other.
Many of May’s students credit him with being influential in important life decisions.
“Students rarely come across a professor they can truly say helped influence their lives,” says one student. “I can say this about Dr. May with no hesitation. His love for academics makes him a wonderful professor. His genuine concern for his students makes him a wonderful person. I hope that whenever I begin my career, I can affect people as positively as Dr. May has affected me.”
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