During the fall 2023 semester, three professors were recognized for teaching excellence: History Prof. Timothy Shannon, Africana Studies Prof. Jennifer Collins Bloomquist, and Psychology Prof. Erin Clark ’99.
Shannon was recognized with the Gettysburg College Distinguished Teaching Award, Bloomquist was honored with the Bruce S. Gordon ’68 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Teaching Excellence Prize, and Clark earned the Dr. Ralph Cavaliere Endowed Teaching Award.
As teachers and scholars, each of these professors exemplify the first-class faculty at Gettysburg College who share their expert knowledge and creative passions with their students, making a profound impact on them inside and outside the classroom. Read about each of the recipients below.
Gettysburg College Distinguished Teaching Award
History Prof. Timothy Shannon
History Prof. Timothy Shannon received the Gettysburg College Distinguished Teaching Award, the highest honor Gettysburg’s faculty can bestow on a colleague. With a focus on early American, Native American, and British history, Shannon’s work has received fellowship support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the John Carter Brown Library, and the Huntington Library. In 2023, he edited a critical edition of “French and Indian Cruelty,” Peter Williamson’s 18th-century captivity narrative, published by Edinburgh University Press.
“I was both surprised and honored to receive the Distinguished Teaching Award and am thankful for the colleagues, alumni, and students who collaborated in nominating me,” said Shannon. “I have been at Gettysburg for quite some time now, since 1996, and can honestly say that I enjoy teaching more with each passing year. It is a privilege to get to share my interests with such bright and enthusiastic students, who consistently give me much more than I am able to give them.”
Learn more about the Gettysburg College Distinguished Teaching Award.
Bruce S. Gordon ’68 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Teaching Excellence Prize
Africana Studies Prof. Jennifer Collins Bloomquist
During Fall Honors Day, Africana Studies Prof. Jennifer Collins Bloomquist received the Bruce S. Gordon ’68 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Teaching Excellence Prize, which was established to recognize the faculty member who stands out as having advanced a campus climate that is supportive of differences in the classroom or beyond. Joining Gettysburg in 2002, first in the English Department with advanced degrees in linguistics from the University at Buffalo and then the Africana Studies program as the first Derrick K. Gondwe Fellow, Bloomquist researches African American Englishes in the regional context.
“I'm so grateful and humbled to be this year's recipient of the Bruce S. Gordon Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Teaching Excellence Award,” said Bloomquist. “Thank you to Bruce Gordon and his classmates for endowing the prize, to my colleagues for nominating me, and to all of the students I have had the privilege to teach over the past 22 years at Gettysburg College."
Learn more about the Bruce S. Gordon ’68 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Teaching Excellence Prize.
Dr. Ralph Cavaliere Endowed Teaching Award
Psychology Prof. Erin Clark ’99
Also during Fall Honors Day, Psychology Prof. Erin Clark ’99 received the Dr. Ralph Cavaliere Endowed Teaching Award, which is selected by Student Senate and is presented to a faculty member who exhibits excellence in teaching. After serving with Teach for America, teaching in K-12 classrooms, and receiving a master’s in education from Temple University, she returned to Gettysburg in 2013 to teach psychology and education. With a passion for cognitive science, Clark values building sincere relationships with her students, designing challenging and dynamic classroom instruction, and helping students become more critical writers and thinkers.
“Understanding and enacting the science of teaching has been my passion since I was a student at Gettysburg,” said Clark. “The best part of my work is challenging my students to dig deeply into content, in search of the ideas that will impact their view of themselves and the world. Thus, I am profoundly honored that my students chose to recognize their time in my classroom in this way.”
Learn more about the Dr. Ralph Cavaliere Endowed Teaching Award.
By Megan Miller
Posted: 12/01/23