The Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellows Committee is inviting junior and senior students, faculty members and other members of the academic staff to submit nominees for the Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellows program.
The program, funded by a gift from Stephen H. Weiss, chairman of Cornell's Board of Trustees, was established in the fall of 1992 and recognizes sustained contributions of tenured faculty members to undergraduate teaching at Cornell. Weiss fellows receive $5,000 each year for the first five years and hold the title as long as they remain at Cornell. They may hold the title along with other named professorships. President Rawlings appointed the members of the Weiss Committee, consisting of Weiss Fellows, emeritus faculty and three senior students from the undergraduate colleges, to solicit and then recommend nominees for his final se
lection. A substantial case for the nominee should be made in a letter address ing specific contributions and should include examples which demonstrate:
·making distinctive contributions to undergraduate teaching, such as challenging and well-organized presentations of the subject, adaptability to the learning needs of students, innovative approaches to course materials, creation of scholarly materials for student use and availability to students outside of class.
·influencing students beyond the formal role as a teacher, such as advising or mentoring individual students, advising student organizations or groups, serving on teaching and curriculum committees and informal interacting with students.
·helping students such as aiding in case of illness or other emergency and advising students confronted with difficult problems.
A faculty nominator should include
an additional supporting letter from a faculty member or other member of the academic staff as well as letters of support from three or more undergraduate students. Students should provide two letters of nomination. The committee will obtain any additional material required. Nominations, due by Feb. 19, 1996, should be sent to the Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellows Committee, 315 Day Hall. For information, call 255-4843.
The current holders of Weiss Fellowships are: Richard D. Aplin, agricultural, resource and managerial economics; David M. Galton, animal science; David Gries, computer science; Walter LaFeber, the Marie Underhill Noll Professor of American History; David A. Levitsky, nutritional sciences; James B. Maas, psychology; Mary J. Sansalone, civil and environmental engineering; Meredith Small, anthropology; and Stephanie Vaughn, English.