Champlain’s First Professor of the Year

Gary Scudder

Assistant Dean for Global Engagement at Champlain College Gary Scudder is known for many things on Champlain’s campus—for being a world traveler, for his Super Bowl chicken-wing-eating prowess, and for engaging his students in the world through the groundbreaking Global Modules program.

And last fall, he added a new moniker—2010 Vermont Professor of the Year—awarded by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). Scudder is the first Champlain College professor selected for the national honor.

“What an extraordinary honor for Gary and Champlain College. This is an important first for our college,” said President David F. Finney.

The U.S. Professors of the Year program salutes the most outstanding undergraduate instructors in the country—those who excel as teachers and influence the lives and careers of their students. It is recognized as one of the most prestigious awards honoring undergraduate teaching.

“I am immensely honored and humbled by this award. I’m a teacher and that is my first love. This recognition makes me want to work even harder for my students in the future,” Scudder said before heading down to Washington, D.C., to receive the honor. “This award is truly an award for everyone at Champlain College. It is recognition of all of our hard work and how far we’ve progressed in our mission of becoming an institution of academic excellence.”

“Gary is an outstanding professor,” noted Elizabeth Beaulieu, dean of the Core Division.“He has an amazing gift and our students are lucky to have him.” He is continuously stretching the limits of cultural immersion in the classroom, she noted.

Scudder works extensively with the Core Division’s Global Modules, an online international discussion forum for Champlain students. In Scudder’s classes, students hold discussions with students from universities around the world, in places like Moscow and Dubai, to help undergraduate students actively engage in discussions about global issues and develop a worldwide perspective.

“I’m hardly the first good teacher in the history of Champlain College—and I’m certainly not the only one here now,” Scudder said. “I would not have won this award five years ago. Champlain is simply viewed by people now in a very different light than it was in the past. This transformation is the result of incredible hard work and dedication by my colleagues, and I am honored to work with them—and I truly believe that I share the award with them.”

John Lippincott, president of CASE, said the 2010 national and state winners were selected for their commitment to student learning, their use of creative teaching methods, and their outreach to the larger community. “They emphasize learning, not just teaching; inspiring, not just professing; and exploring, not just explaining. In short, they are exceptional representatives of a noble profession.”

“Gary has influenced literally thousands of students through the Global Modules program, and many Champlain students have had the privilege of having him in class. Still others experience him, this year, daily at the Quarry Hill student residence, where he models living and learning and even cooking. His impact has been felt on the Champlain campus for a decade, and we look forward to the many ways he’ll continue to contribute to our community. I know that I speak for everyone when I say that we are honored to work side by side with such a gifted educator,” added Robin Abramson, Champlain’s provost and chief academic officer.

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In Good Company

Recent past winners of the Vermont Professor of the Year award are: John Elder, professor of English and Environmental Studies at Middlebury College in 2008; David Mindich, professor and Chair of Journalism and Mass Communication at Saint Michael’s College in 2006, Sunhee Choi, professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Middlebury College in 2005, and Susan Dinitz, lecturer of English at the University of Vermont in 2004.