Saint Mary's honors 4 faculty members with awards

February 23, 2018 (Notre Dame, Ind.) — Saint Mary's College is proud to recognize four professors with prestigious faculty awards for demonstrated excellence inside and outside of the classroom and dedication to students and their profession. The Academic Affairs Council, chaired by President Jan Cervelli and made up of administrators, faculty, and staff, votes on the most deserving recipients after reading through nominations. The vote results are kept secret until the honors are bestowed.

The recipients were announced at the Faculty Award Luncheon on February 16. All awards were established through the Faith Always, Action Now capital campaign which concluded in January 2015 after raising $105 million for the College.

Donald R. and Nora Barry Fischer '73 Faculty Award for Teaching Excellence

Cassie Majetic, associate professor of biology, was honored with the Donald R. and Nora Barry Fischer '73 Faculty Award for Teaching Excellence.

Majetic models the seamless relationship among teaching, mentoring, and personal scholarly work that is the hallmark of liberal arts institutions in general and Saint Mary's in particular. She engages her students in active learning and is willing to experiment with a variety of formats to make that happen. She was also one the College's first instructors to try a hybrid course format to which the response was overwhelmingly positive. 

Recognized for her creative teaching and modeling of what a woman in science
can be, Majetic teaches her students the science, but also emphasizes the context of economics and sustainability concerns, and about communicating usable information to nonscientists.

Kevin J. and Marijo Rogers Kelly '77 Faculty Service Award

Susan Baxter, senior lecturer in communication studies, was honored with the Kevin and Marijo Rogers Kelly '77 Faculty Service Award. 

Baxter blends her service effortlessly across professional, community, and institutional lines. An accomplished playwright, communicator, and mentor, she has written plays that celebrate the work of the Sisters of the Holy Cross, welcoming speeches that express deep sentiments to
new students, and course material that assists students in becoming thoughtful writers
themselves.

This fall, Baxter developed and led a program for daughters, mothers and, mentors, bringing them to Saint Mary's to explore a young woman's strengths and passions and to begin to discern a path in life. She regularly serves many students through her investment in the Writing Program, spending much time mentoring them as well as planning programs for faculty who are involved in teaching writing to students.

Carmi & Chris Murphy Faculty Award for Student Mentorship of the Senior Comprehensive

Rebecca Stoddart, professor of psychology, was honored with the Carmi and Chris Murphy Award in Excellence in the Senior Comprehensive.

Stoddart was recognized for the years of challenge and support, counsel and professionalism, as evident by the number of alumnae who have used their research skills to impact their worlds. Stoddart has been a staunch research mentor and model for young women at Saint Mary's College. She prepares and empowers students to present papers or posters at academic conferences. Her seminars engage her students with each other's work as they learn from one another how to make tough methodological decisions and experience what it feels like to be the local expert on their topic. 

Karen Bush Schneider Faculty Scholarship Award 

Dionne Irving Bremyer, assistant professor of English, was honored with the Karen Bush Schneider Faculty Award.

Bremyer was nominated by faculty from English, but also from disciplines including modern languages, religious studies, art, humanistic studies, and psychology. While highly accessible, according to the citation, "so much of [her] writing lends itself to critical analysis, particularly in the areas of race theory, gender studies, media studies, and postcolonial history, and her forthcoming essay, 'My Black Breast Friend: Breast Feeding and the Black Body."

Her work has been recognized by her literary peers, including five separate awards, and over the past three years Bremyer has been offered three residencies at internationally renowned writers' conferences, including the prestigious Sewanee Writers' Conference and VONA (Voices of Our Nation's Artist) Foundation. She has also received the recognition of having her works included in anthologies.