May 3, 2021
By: Franco LaTona
The Butler School of Music proudly awards Associate Professor of Musicology Hannah Lewis and Associate Professor of Collaborative Piano Collette Valentine with this year’s Teaching Excellence Awards.
The award annually recognizes one member of the performance faculty and one member of the academic faculty for sustained records of outstanding teaching. A committee of faculty and students appointed by Director Mary Ellen Poole met to determine the winners. The committee considered all aspects of a nominee’s teaching, including classroom teaching, individual instruction, and the impact that a faculty member has on students beyond the classroom and beyond the University.
“The awards are especially meaningful this year given the heroic efforts of our faculty to modify instruction to meet the challenges of the pandemic,” said Professor of Jazz Studies and Jazz Piano Jeff Hellmer, who led to selection committee. “This year’s recipients demonstrated resiliency, innovation, and compassion that was invaluable to our students.”