Jay Howard, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, will receive the American Sociological Association (ASA) 2013 Distinguished Contributions to Teaching Award, which is given annually to honor an educator for his or her efforts to improve the teaching of sociology.

 

Howard will receive the award—the highest award a teacher can receive in the sociology discipline—in August in New York at the ASA’s annual meeting.

“Jay Howard richly deserves this highly prestigious award, having made major contributions to teaching and learning at state, regional, and national levels and through service, workshops, and publications that have enhance the ‘college teaching movement,’” said Keith Roberts, Hanover College emeritus professor of sociology, who nominated him for the award. 

“In the entire history of the award, Jay is only the fifth person from a liberal arts college to be so recognized, and that in itself speaks to how he has earned national recognition despite being at smaller teaching-oriented institutions. It is a privilege to have him as friend and colleague.”

Howard’s contributions include:

-Starting a program for the North Central Sociological Association called the Future Faculty Certificate. “Graduate students, when they come to professional meetings, are often drive-by participants,” Howard said. “They present their research and leave after their session, often because they don’t have a lot of money. We were interested in getting them greater benefit from the meetings and getting them engaged in the organization.”

Howard led the effort to create the certificate, which graduate students earn by participating in teaching-related sessions. The certificate signals to potential employers that the individual is serious about teaching. The ASA has since established its own certificate program, which it modeled after North Central’s program.

-Authoring more than 35 teaching-related publications including, a book called First Contact:  Teaching and Learning in Introductory Sociology, with colleague Nancy Greenwood.  Howard has presented on teaching-related topics multiple times at ASA meetings.

-Writing, presenting, and publishing research about student participation and discussion in the college classroom. Howard presents faculty development workshops on this topic at institutions around the country.

-Serving as a member of ASA’s Department Resources Group, which trains sociologists to be external reviewers for college and university sociology departments.

-Serving as a key contributor to Indiana University’s Future Faculty Teaching Fellows and Preparing Future Faculty programs.

“Howard’s many contributions to the scholarship of teaching and learning at the national level provide a blueprint for aspiring winners of this award,” said Rebecca Bach of Duke University, chair of the ASA Distinguished Contributions to Teaching Award Committee. 

Howard joined Butler in 2010 after serving in numerous positions at Indiana University-Purdue University Columbus, including interim vice chancellor and dean. He also has been a member of the graduate school faculty at Indiana University.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in sociology from Indiana University South Bend, and his master’s and Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame.

 “I have been fortunate to be a part of a culture that values teaching on campus at Butler and at IU as well as in professional organizations at the regional and national levels , each of which provided me opportunities to contribute to furthering student learning,” Howard said. “I am deeply honored and humbled by this recognition.”

 

Media contact:
Marc Allan
mallan@butler.edu
(317) 940-9822