KU News Release

KU announces awards given to outstanding graduate teaching assistants

LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas Office of Research and Graduate Studies will honor 11 outstanding graduate teaching assistants with about $6,500 in awards at a reception at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 23, at the Courtside Room in the Burge Union.

KU students and representatives of departments and academic programs from throughout the university nominated graduate students for the awards. A selection committee chose winners based on their commitment and dedication to teaching, departmental and student comments and level of responsibility.

Keri Sanburn Behre, Wichita doctoral student in English, and Joshua Long, Bastrop, Texas, doctoral student in human geography, received $1,250 Carlin Graduate Teaching Assistant Awards. Diana Carlin, professor of communication studies, endowed the awards, which were first presented in 1993. Carlin, former dean of the graduate school and international programs, is completing an appointment as dean-in-residence and director of international outreach with the Council of Graduate Schools in Washington, D.C. She will return to KU in August.

Natabhona Marianne “Natty” Mabachi, Nairobi, Kenya, doctoral student in communication studies, and Papa Bousso, Saint-Louis, Senegal, doctoral student in French, received $750 Distinguished Service Awards.

Four students received $500 Outstanding Graduate Teaching Awards: Karen S. Probey Blakeman, Kansas City, Kan., master’s student in journalism; Evelyn Adair Clark, Auburn, Ala., and Laramie, Wyo., doctoral student in sociology; Robert Fucci, Westbrook, Conn., and Haddon Township, N.J., master’s student in history of art; and Jennifer Kittlaus, Evanston, Ill., doctoral student in philosophy.

For the first time this year, the Office of Research and Graduate Studies recognized three students with Exemplary Teaching Awards. They are Hong “Frank” Cai, Yantai, China, doctoral student in American studies; Shelly Cline, Belleville doctoral student in history; and Regine Kroh, Neubrandenburg, Germany, master’s student in Germanic languages and literatures. Cai and Cline are GTAs for humanities and western civilization classes.

Award-winning teaching assistants are listed below by hometown, degree program, area of research or dissertation topic, award, parents’ names and previous education or degrees earned.

REPUBLIC COUNTY
From Belleville 66935
Shelly Marie Cline, doctoral student in history with an emphasis in 20th century Europe and gender in the Holocaust; Exemplary Teaching Award; daughter of Robert and Patricia Cline; master’s degree in history from KU, spring 2007; bachelor’s degree in secondary education from KU, spring 2004; Belleville High School; Cline’s humanities and western civilization students described her as “a most enthusiastic and knowledgeable teacher” and one who “has real passion for her field of study, which makes for an inspiring environment.”

SEDGWICK COUNTY
From Wichita 67212
Keri Sanburn Behre, doctoral student in English specializing in representations and theories of the body in modern and medieval literature; Carlin Graduate Teaching Assistant Award; daughter of Maggie Iuen and David Sanburn; master’s degree in English literature from Florida State University; bachelor’s degree in English language and literature from Wichita State University; Maize High School; Her nominator said, “Keri is a wonderful teacher who believes in the lofty goals of a humanities education and motivates her students to appreciate them as well.”

WYANDOTTE COUNTY
From Kansas City 66106
Karen S. Probey Blakeman, master’s student in journalism conducting research on the uses of newspaper blogs as gateways to other content; Exemplary Teaching Award; daughter of the late Shirley Ann Todd Moore; bachelor’s degree magna cum laude in psychology with a women’s studies minor from Wichita State University; Washington High School, Kansas City, Kan; Her son, James Lee Blakeman, is a high school English teacher in Ilsan, South Korea. She is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, the Kansas Air National Guard in Wichita and the U.S.Air Force Reserve. She has also worked with the U.S. State Department and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe toward the democratization of Bosnian media after the Dayton Agreement of 1995. David Perlmutter, Blakeman’s adviser and associate dean and professor of journalism, said, “Her teaching approach is marked by a commitment to seeing her students excel. She makes sure they understand how skills gained in class will advance their careers.”

ALABAMA
From Auburn 36832 and Laramie, Wyo.
Evelyn Adair Clark, Laramie, Wyo., doctoral student in sociology with emphasis on globalization, gender and social inequalities and research focus on the relationship between neoliberal economic policies and women’s status and activism in post-Pinochet Chile; Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Award; daughter of Caleb and Janet Clark of Auburn, Ala.; master’s degree in sociology from KU, spring 2000; bachelor’s degree in sociology and international studies from the University of Wyoming; Laramie High School, Laramie, Wyo. Her nominator said, “She has excelled in both large and small classroom settings, established solid teacher/student relationships and encouraged cooperative learning environments.”

CONNECTICUT
From Westbrook 06498 and Haddon Township, N.J.
Robert L. Fucci, master’s student in history of art; Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Award; son of Bob Fucci of Westbrook, Conn., and Laine Brainard of Haddon Township, N.J.; bachelor’s degree in history of art from Wesleyan University, Middletown, Conn.; Haddon Township High School; He plans to begin doctoral studies at Columbia University in history of art with emphasis on the history of 17th century Dutch printmaking and how prints helped establish new modes of landscape art in a young republic. “Rob is a born teacher,” his nominator said. “His students come away with a tremendous respect for him and the knowledge he has shared with them.”

ILLINOIS
From Evanston 60201
Jennifer D. Kittlaus, doctoral student in philosophy with an emphasis in ethics; Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Award; daughter of the Rev. Lloyd R. and Janet L. Kittlaus; master’s degree in philosophy from KU, spring 2007; bachelor’s degree in philosophy and religion from Gettysburg College, Gettysburg, Pa.; Evanston Township High School; Her faculty nominator said, “Jennifer is a GTA whose contributions to the teaching mission of KU have been exceptionally multifaceted and far-reaching and have been at the highest levels of quality in all aspects.”

NEW JERSEY
From Haddon Township 08033 and Westbrook, Conn.
Robert L. Fucci. See CONNECTICUT

TEXAS
From Bastrop 78602
Joshua Long, doctoral student in human geography researching sense-of-place studies, landscapes in transition and urban geography, specifically creative resistance to changes in the cultural landscape of Austin, Texas; Carlin Graduate Teaching Assistant Award; son of Robert K. and Sue Long; master’s degree in rural geography from Northern Arizona University; bachelor’s degree in resource and environmental geography from Texas State University; Christ Community Christian High School, Austin; “Josh is dynamic … enthusiastic … and has a talent for highlighting why geography is relevant to individual students,” his nominator said.

WYOMING
From Laramie 82070 and Auburn, Ala.
Evelyn Clark. See ALABAMA

CHINA
From Yantai
Hong “Frank” Cai, doctoral student in American studies with research focus on race, ethnicity and immigration, particularly Chinese immigration; Exemplary Teaching Award; son of Meirong Gong and Haimin Cai; master’s degree in American studies from Beijing Foreign Studies University; master’s degree in American studies from KU, spring 2003; undergraduate studies as an English and education major in Yantai Normal University (now Ludong University) and Shanghai International Studies University; Yantai No. 3 Middle School; Students in his humanities and western civilization classes said, “He does everything in his power to provide the biggest opportunity for each and every one of his students to succeed.”

GERMANY
From Neubrandenburg
Regine Kroh, master’s student in Germanic languages and literatures whose thesis topic relates to depiction of outsiders in the short stories from Exile by Klaus Mann; Exemplary Teaching Award; daughter of Dr. Peter Kroh and Ingrid Kroh; previous study at Freie Universitaet Berlin, Germany; A student in her classes said, “Regine was an exemplary teacher … and had a great interaction with the class overall to achieve a perfect blend of relaxed environment blended with academic success that made the class a joy to attend.”

KENYA
From Nairobi
Natabhona “Natty” Marianne Mabachi, doctoral student in communication studies with research focus on prevention and intervention communication on the HIV/AIDS pandemic, particularly in Africa; Distinguished Service Award; daughter of Victor and Emma Mabachi; master’s degree in organizational studies from University of Warwick, Coventry, England; master’s degree in communication studies from KU, spring 2005; bachelor’s degree with honors in communication, culture and media, Coventry University, Coventry, England; BrookHouse School, Nairobi; Her nominator said, “Her modesty and inherent sense of responsible sense of community service make her an invaluable member of our department and university family.” Part of her nomination mentioned that she is a member of the Dean’s Student Advisory Council for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. It also cited that she had been a guest speaker in communication studies and sociology to discuss communication and culture in Kenya and HIV/AIDS in Africa and that she has worked with health care professionals and law enforcement officials.

SENEGAL
From Saint-Louis
Papa Badara Bousso, doctoral student in French specializing in Francophone studies; Distinguished Service Award; son of Abdoulaye Bousso and Gnagna Kane; master’s degree in translation from Kent State University; bachelor’s degree in foreign languages applied to business from Université Gaston Berger, Saint-Louis, Senegal; high school diploma from Lycée Omar Foutiyou Tall, Saint-Louis, Senegal; His faculty nominator said Bousso “brings to his own work and teaching, and to his interaction with peers and faculty, very high standards and a seriousness of purpose that are accompanied by remarkable energy and an invariably collegial attitude.”

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