The Stephen H. Weiss Awards were announced Oct. 18 by President Martha E. Pollack in a report to the Cornell University Board of Trustees. The eight awardees were unanimously recommended by a selection committee composed of six faculty members and two students, who considered 37 distinguished nominees in all.
“The Weiss Awards are the highest honors Cornell confers for superb teaching,” Pollack said.
“Committed, engaging and energizing, these teachers exemplify Cornell’s priority on educational verve.”
Three faculty members were recognized with Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellowships, honoring tenured faculty members who have sustained records of effective, inspiring and distinguished teaching, and contributions to undergraduate education. Three professors received Stephen H. Weiss Junior Fellowship Awards, recognizing early-career tenured faculty; and two, including van Es, received Stephen H. Weiss Provost’s Teaching Fellowship Awards, honoring untenured faculty members.
In 31 years as a teacher, van Es has numerous teaching and advising awards, including being a 10-time Merrill Presidential Scholar honoree.
The committee noted that van Es “has shown outstanding classroom teaching in statistics with very large introductory classes as well as in moderate and small upper level classes [and] has been active in teaching others to teach while creating innovative curricula. She has been a leader in developing courses that champion diversity and inclusion.”
She also initiated an innovative engaged learning program centered on a trip to South Africa, to work on real-world projects with small businesses. Seven-week courses before and after the trip provided students with cultural and historical perspectives, and opportunity for reflection on the experience.
Established in 1992, the Weiss Presidential Fellowship was conceived by the late Stephen H. Weiss ’57, chairman emeritus of the board of trustees, to recognize tenured Cornell faculty members for teaching and mentoring undergraduates. The Junior Fellowship and Provost’s Teaching Fellowship Awards were established in 2016.
Additional information about the other Weiss teaching award winners can be found in the Cornell Chronicle article.
