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The Rice Thresher
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by Mark Berenson Thresher editorial staff
Lecturers, unlike professors, are not required to conduct research and are not eligible for tenure. They comprise one-third of the humanities faculty. Spuler, a Lovett College resident associate, said the award, which comes with a $2,000 cash prize, means a lot to him because it was nice to have tangible recognition for outstanding teaching. "You have certain moments in class when you realize that some sort of transaction of knowledge has taken place, and students have gotten something," Spuler said. "And that feels good, and those are the kinds of experiences that sustain you from semester to semester, from week to week, from course to course. "But at the same time, it is always nice to have the acknowledgment of your colleagues too, to have them say, 'Hey, you've been doing a good job, keep it up,'" Spuler said. Interim Dean of Humanities Gale Stokes said Spuler deserved the award for several reasons. "He has been here a number of years, he's a resident associate, he's very student-oriented, he has introduced new teaching techniques, he gets very high student evaluations, he is an enthusiastic advocate of studying languages - and especially German - and so he seemed like a very good choice," Stokes said. Sid Richardson College freshman Becca Schendel, who is in Spuler's German 202 class, said Spuler makes her want to learn German. She said Spuler's teaching method makes the learning experience more satisfying. "He uses a lot of outside sources," Schendel said. "He doesn't use the book much, we don't use memorization. Instead, he will print out stuff from the Web and bring it in and apply it to class." Spuler said because the award will be given every year, it will benefit all lecturers in the School of Humanities. "Across the board, lecturers appreciate the fact that year in and year out, they are being given a public space in which their contributions are being acknowledged," Spuler said. The establishment of the award, which took place earlier this year, is one of several steps Stokes is taking to "professionalize" the position of lecturer. Stokes said the criteria for choosing the recipient of the award is that the lecturer be a professional teacher, enthusiastic and dedicated to students. The recipient is selected by a faculty committee and then approved by Stokes. The award is named after Fayez Sarofim, who will fund the cash prize. Sarofim is a Houston money manager who handles about 20 percent of Rice's endowment. Spuler will be presented the award by President Malcolm Gillis at the final faculty meeting of the school year on May 11.
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