November 1, 1999
Contact: Barbara Ballard, student affairs, (785) 864-4381.
LAWRENCE -- Victor Contoski, poet and professor of English at the University of Kansas, won the 1999 HOPE Award - Honor for the Outstanding Progressive Educator.
Contoski received the award, offered annually by the KU senior class, during pregame ceremonies at the KU-University of Nebraska football game Oct. 30 in KU's Memorial Stadium. Diana Carlin, acting associate provost, and Jonathan Alt, senior class president of Winnetka, Ill., presented the award.
Contoski joined the KU faculty in 1969. He was a 1998 HOPE award finalist. His published books of poetry include "Astronomers, Madonnas and Prophesies" in 1972, "Broken Treaties" in 1973, "Names" in 1979, "A Kansas Sequence" in 1983 and "Midwestern Buildings: A Collection of Poems" in 1997.
He collaborated with Charles Hoag, KU professor of music and dance, to set two of his works to music: "Quantrill's Raid on Lawrence for Orchestra and Chorus" and "A Kansas Sequence for SATB Chorus and Piano."
His other published works include a number of translations, particularly of Polish writers. He was a Fulbright professor at the University of Lodz in Poland from 1963 to 1964 and was a lecturer in American literature at Lodz from 1961 to 1963. He is also a championship chess player.
Contoski earned a bachelor's degree in ancient Greek and a master's degree in English from the University of Minnesota. He has a Ph.D. in American literature from the University of Wisconsin.
The HOPE award was established by the KU class of 1959 to recognize the recipient's outstanding teaching and concern for students. To date, 43 HOPE awards have been given (three awards were given in 1972). It is the only KU award for teaching excellence bestowed exclusively by seniors.
Eight finalists competed for the award. All finalists received a plaque during the pregame ceremony, and the winner received a $300 cash award and recognition on a permanent plaque displayed in the Kansas Union.
Finalists included: John Broholm, associate professor of journalism; Dennis Dailey, professor of social welfare; Sally Frost Mason, professor of biology and dean of liberal arts and sciences (represented by KU instructor in biological sciences, Paulyn Cartwright and her husband, Bruce Lieberman, KU assistant professor of geology); Jerry Lewis, assistant professor of business; Tim Shaftel, professor of business (represented by his wife, Julie, and daughter, Emily); Greg Shepherd, associate professor of communication studies; Beverly Davenport Sypher, professor of communication studies and associate dean of liberal arts and sciences.
Each year the senior class members select the winner by ballot and interviews. This year, senior class members nominated 18 faculty members for the award. Seniors elected eight as finalists during a two-day campus election. The winner was selected by the senior class officers and the senior advisory board after interviews with each finalist.