Associate Dean Lawrence receives Slane College award for Excellence in Teaching

05/10/2011 11:08 AM

The recipient of the Slane College of Communication and Fine Arts award for Excellence in Teaching goes to an outstanding faculty member who exhibits the college’s values of imagination, creativity, and innovation.

The 2011 recipient of this award went to Associate Dean, Betty Jane “B.J.” Lawrence. Lawrence’s dedication to her students, colleagues, and Bradley University make her a perfect candidate for this honor.

“In her 44 years at Bradley, B.J. has proven to be -by every single measure- one of the most excellent educators any of us have ever encountered,” Dean Jeffrey Huberman said.

Lawrence joined the faculty in 1967. Since then, she has been responsible for numerous new courses and programs at Bradley. She redesigned the capstone course, CFA 421, and reorganized CFA 100. She directs the Global Scholars Programs, teaches the seminars, and leads European expeditions every year. For many years, Lawrence directed COM 103, the basic course, for which she  selected and integrated a new textbook and developed workshops for the emerging technology used to teach the course.

Students attest to her personal commitment to their academic, professional, and creative lives.

According to one student, “She exemplifies everything that a great teacher should be: passionate, knowledgeable, organized, kind, but uncompromising in holding us to the highest standards of performance, and she is absolutely dedicated to every student in the class. She made me feel as if I were her only student and she was my personal mentor. She is one of the best teachers I’ve ever had.”