2022 Stamps Faculty Awards
The 2022 Stamps faculty awards honored four instructors for their excellence teaching, scholarship, creativity, and during the past academic year. The recipients were nominated by their peers and selected by the Executive Committee. Congratulations to these outstanding instructors!
Stamps Award For Lecturer Excellence
Allie Tova Hirsch, Lecturer I and Jessica Frelinghuysen, Lecturer II
The new Stamps School Award for Lecturer Excellence recognizes outstanding teaching contributions that engage and inspire the Stamps School community. This yearly award to a member of the Lecturer faculty cohort is selected by the Executive Committee from nominations by Stamps students, alumni, lecturers, tenured / tenure track faculty and staff. 49 nominations — over half from current students — were received in this inaugural award year. Due to the larger number of compelling nominations and that this is the first year of the award, the committee selected two awardees.
In selecting the two awardees, the Executive Committee nominators’ compelling and heartfelt descriptions of each faculty member’s impact on the school’s instructional environment. Allie Tova Hirsch was described as a faculty member who creates a safe space in the classroom for challenging conversations; demonstrates their commitment to each students’ success; and models respect and inclusivity in all aspects of their teaching. Jessica Frelinghuysen was acknowledged for her successful and highly-collaborative leadership of the Integrative Project course; her impact on students as both an instructor and a mentor; and her strengths in helping students identify their own creative interests and pursue their own paths.
R.D. Richards Memorial Award
Roland Graf, Associate Professor
The Richards Award recognizes a faculty member who has made outstanding contributions to the school during the past year in the areas of teaching, creative work, and service. The award was established by Stamps alumna Betsy Richards Horning in memory of her late husband Dr. Robert D. Richards, a graduate of the UM dental school. The recipient of the Richards Award was selected by the Executive Committee, through its annual review of faculty activity reports and teaching evaluations in which a rigorous review of faculty teaching, creative work, and service is conducted.
In selecting Professor Graf for this honor, the Executive Committee cited his outstanding performance in each area recognized by the award, including: significant contributions in both teaching and service (ex. serving as interim director for the MDes program and course coordinator for Second Year Studio, developing a new interdisciplinary course in augmented reality), and strong peer recognition for his creative work and research (ex. grant-funded implementation of the iGYM system at Packard Health, and receiving the National Award of Excellence from the Austrian Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research for his doctoral thesis).
The Rogers Edge Award
Andy Kirshner, Associate Professor
The Rogers Edge Award recognizes a Stamps faculty member whose creative practice moves beyond disciplinary boundaries and brings together different kinds of people and ideas. The award was established in honor of Bryan Rogers (1941−2013), former dean of the Stamps School, whose curricular vision encompassed a new model for educating thinkers and makers, and whose own creative work navigated across and above disciplinary divides. The endowment that funds the award was created through the generous contributions of Stamps faculty and staff, Dean Rogers’ colleagues across campus, and many Stamps alumni. As with the Richards Award, the recipient of the Rogers Edge Award was identified by the Executive Committee through its annual review of faculty creative work.
In selecting Professor Kirshner for the honor, the Executive Committee cited the highly-interdisciplinary nature of his creative work and his success in pushing the boundaries of what is considered a documentary through his new film 10 Questions for Henry Ford. The committee also noted that Professor Kirshner is discursive about his work to students and colleagues and seeks out challenges to expand his creative practice.