Austin College recognized excellence among its faculty at the annual Honors Convocation April 28, in addition to the awarding of more than 120 student scholarship and fellowships for excellence in a variety of disciplines. “The student accomplishments we recognize today are reflective of the excellent faculty of Austin College,” said Dr. Sheila Amin Gutiérrez de Piñeres, vice president for Academic Affairs and dean of the faculty. “I am very pleased to also announce annual awards that allow us to highlight members of our distinguished faculty.”
The Austin College Excellence in Teaching and Leadership Award was presented to Dr. Light Cummins, professor of history and the Guy M. Bryan Chair of American History. “Enthusiasm and fervor are for me the keys to teaching,” Cummins says on his webpage. “I attempt to communicate an honest zeal and an explicit excitement for my subject in every moment of my teaching.” In response to this award, Cummins said, “Teaching is a process that should never produce definitive cloture, so I always attempt be flexible, open to change, and ready to adapt in the face of shifting circumstances. In that regard, I am ready to learn from the students and routinely seek do so. This means that I constantly attempt to appreciate every student both as a person and as an intellect, realizing that each of undergraduate has a reservoir of talent and ability that I should help them to develop.”
Cummins has been a member of the history faculty at Austin College since 1978. Widely recognized as an expert in Texas history, he served as State Historian of Texas from May 2009 through July 2012. He is a member of the Texas Institute of Letters and the Philosophical Society of Texas. Named a Minnie Stevens Piper Professor in 2006, he has received various awards for contributions at Austin College. He has written several books, including United States History to 1877, a widely adopted textbook for college survey and Advanced Placement courses, and received numerous honors and awards for his books. A lifetime fellow of the Texas State Historical Association, he has served on the board of that association. He also has served as president of the Louisiana Historical Association and the Southwestern Historical Association.
Dr. Lance Barton, associate professor of biology; was announced as the College’s nominee for Piper Professor. “Austin College has many great teachers who all place great importance on educating the outstanding students we have here,” Barton said. “I have been blessed to have some truly amazing students who make each day in the classroom an exciting new adventure. I tend to measure my own success by the success of my former students, so to be identified by this award is very surprising, and I am very honored by the recognition.”
A member of the Austin College faculty since 2003, Barton’s courses include cell biology, cellular physiology, immunology, cancer biology, human infectious diseases, and research and design of experiments. He has worked extensively with undergraduate research students who have presented their work on campus and at regional and national meetings. He led the development of Austin College’s all-campus Austin College Student Scholarship Conference to provide professional opportunities for students in all subject areas to present their research. He was elected a Councilor in Biology for the Council for Undergraduate Research in 2013 and was named the director of Austin College’s Center for Research, Experiential, Artistic, and Transformative Education (CREATE) in 2015.
The College regularly presents three teaching awards each spring, soliciting nominations from faculty and students for the Austin College Excellence in Teaching and Leadership Award, the College’s nominees for the Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation Professor, and for the CASE U.S. Professors of the Year Program. A committee comprised of three faculty members, elected by their respective divisions to the Executive Committee of the faculty, and two students, reviews nominations and selects the recipients, who receive stipend awards in recognition of their achievements. The CASE Professorship award system has taken a one-year hiatus so no nominee was selected for the third award this spring.
The 2015 awards were not announced at Honors Convocation last spring due to procedural changes so those winners also were recognized in April. The honorees were Austin College Excellence in Teaching and Leadership Award, Dr. Robert Cape, professor of classics and Chase Professor of Classical Languages; CASE professor nominee Dr. John McGinn, associate professor of music; and Piper Professor nominee Dr. David Baker, professor of physics.
Cape has been a member of the Austin College faculty since 1994. He teaches Latin, Greek, and ancient history, with special interests in Latin prose, rhetoric, women in antiquity, and Roman social and intellectual history. He has also taught about the ancient world in science fiction and is interested in classical receptions. He regularly conducts classes in Rome during January Term. He has also received awards for teaching from the American Philological Association and for research from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
“I am honored to be recognized because teaching is so important to all Austin College faculty, and so many of my colleagues are outstanding teachers,” Cape said. “I am also humbled, because it causes me to recall the many times I have not been at my best. Being part of a community that is genuinely interested in student learning and supports teaching in formal and informal ways is the most rewarding part about working at Austin College.”
McGinn, a composer and pianist, has performed throughout the U.S. and Europe and appeared on more than a dozen commercial recordings, including the first two of The Shakespeare Concerts CDs. He teaches music theory, composition, and ear training.
“I’m touched and honored to receive this nomination,” McGinn said. “It serves at once as a happy affirmation and yet also a humbling challenge in terms of reappraising what I do in the music classroom and seeking ever more effective ways to engage and inspire my students. One of my core beliefs is that a teacher must never stop learning or ‘practicing’ (hint hint). Indeed that’s one of the principal reasons that I embraced, and continue to embrace, this exceptionally worthy profession.”
Baker, who joined the College faculty in 2000, teaches courses in physics, atmospheric and environmental physics, observational astronomy, global climate and extreme weather. His research interests include planetary science, atmospheric physics, and earth system science education. Baker is the director of the Adams Observatory in Austin College’s IDEA Center.
“I’m honored and grateful to receive this nomination,” Baker said. “The Piper Professor program recognizes creativity in and out of the classroom—the type of culture that permeates our campus. Austin College allows faculty and students to try new things and take risks, all in an effort to create innovative learning environments that make a difference. I feel very lucky to work at a place like Austin College.”
Austin College, a private national liberal arts college located north of Dallas in Sherman, Texas, has earned a reputation for excellence in academic preparation, international study, pre-professional foundations, leadership development, committed faculty, and hands-on, adventurous learning opportunities. One of 40 schools profiled in Loren Pope’s influential book Colleges That Change Lives, Austin College boasts a welcoming community that embraces diversity and individuality, with more than 36 percent of students representing ethnic minorities. A residential student body of 1,250 students and a faculty of more than 100 allow a 12:1 student-faculty ratio and personalized attention. The College is related by covenant to the Presbyterian Church (USA) and cultivates an inclusive atmosphere that supports students’ faith journeys regardless of religious tradition. Founded in 1849, the College is the oldest institution of higher education in Texas operating under original name and charter.