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SBS Presents Outstanding Teaching Awards

Maureen Perry-Jenkins and Lynnette Leidy Sievert

Maureen Perry-Jenkins (psychology) and Lynnette Leidy Sievert (anthropology) are the 2007 recipients of the Outstanding Teaching Award, presented by College of Social and Behavioral Sciences at UMass Amherst.

The OutstandingTeaching Award was instituted in the 1990s to augment the University Distinguished Teaching Award in an effort to recognize a larger number of talented teachers. Nominating procedures, however, are different. Candidates for the Outstanding Teaching Award are nominated by their peers and selected by the SBS Instructional Quality Council; for the University award, nominees come from current and former students and are selected by a committee of faculty and students.

Perry-Jenkins is described as a “gifted,” “passionate” and “dynamic” teacher who has enormously impacted graduate and undergraduate students in the classroom and through individual mentoring. Through large courses and small seminars, her teacher ratings have been consistently outstanding. Perry-Jenkins’ energy and enthusiasm are augmented by an incredible level of preparation, thoughtfulness and organization. She has a very active research lab and in the past three years alone has chaired eight honor’s theses and worked with many research assistants whose training she takes most seriously. Since 1999 she has advised eight doctoral candidates, chairing their dissertations and master’s theses. Their successes are testament to Perry-Jenkins teaching talent, which now reaches beyond the UMass Amherst campus to other colleges where her former students now teach.

Sievert’s teaching is interdisciplinary, crossing the boundaries of biology and culture. Infused by excitement about her research on menopause, Sievert’s upbeat instruction has been described as “stellar,” “enthusiastic” and “the best I’ve had at UMass Amherst.” Typically she teaches three courses per semester with an extra honors section, while also taking on numerous independent studies as well as undergraduate and graduate advisees. On top of this Sievert serves as the undergraduate program director for anthropology, working one-on-one with students as they fulfill their major requirements. She insists on high standards and gets results. Said one colleague, “It is difficult to choose the best teacher among our ranks. We chose Dr. Sievert for several reasons: consistency, attitude, organization, clarity, and rigor. All told, she is a model teacher.”