On March 14, Mercyhurst students received an email about the annual Teaching Excellence Award. Students are asked to nominate a teacher every year through email and posters hung around campus.

Joanne McGurk, a previous winner of the award, has been involved with the process for many years.

She explained that Mercyhurst first introduced the Teaching Excellence Award in 1990 and one professor has won it every year since.

Notable past recipients include Mary Hembrow Snyder, Randy Clemons, Leanne Roberts, Chris Magoc, Kristan Wheaton as well as many others from the different departments on campus.

The winner is primarily chosen on the basis of student nominations, but faculty and alumni can also recommend professors for the award. A committee of former recipients of the award then looks at the nominations provided and chooses a single professor to receive the award. In addition to the recognition that the Teaching Excellence Award gives, the winning professor also receives a cash award.

Student votes matter, and it is very easy to nominate a professor. Students simply need to click on the link from the March 14 email and write a few sentences describing why you believe your professor deserves this award.

The goal of the award is to have students choose a teacher that has changed the way they think, has inspired them to pursue new courses of study or has taken the role of a mentor. If a teacher has done this much for a student, then it’s only fair that the favor be returned by recognizing them for their contributions to a student’s experience at Mercyhurst.

The deadline for nominations is April 9. In addition to the original email, the link for nominations can also be found on the Mercyhurst Student Government Facebook page.