Note: See below for photo availability.

By WYNNE BOELT
UNC-CH News Services

CHAPEL HILL -- Five faculty members at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have won the Tanner Faculty Awards for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching.

They are: Dr. Debashis "Deb" Aikat, assistant professor and media futurist at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication; Dr. M. Deborah Bialeschki, associate professor in recreation and leisure studies; Dr. Frank Church, associate professor in pathology and laboratory medicine; Dr. Michael Crimmins, professor of chemistry; and Dr. Jean DeSaix, lecturer of biology.

The Tanner Faculty Awards are given annually to full-time faculty members who have demonstrated excellence in undergraduate teaching. Each winner receives $5,000.

Faculty, staff, alumni and undergraduate students made the nominations. The University Committee on Teaching interviewed department chairs, reviewed teaching evaluations and randomly surveyed students. Chancellor Michael Hooker reviewed final nominations and selected recipients. Hooker will honor these and other teaching award recipients at a banquet April 19.

Aikat, who joined UNC-CH in 1995, teaches online research and Internet publishing, and conducts research on futuristic aspects of communication. This is Aikat’s third teaching award at Carolina. In 1998, he won the Students Undergraduate Teaching Award and the Class of 1998 Outstanding Favorite Faculty Award. A native of India, he worked for the BBC World Service. In 1997, the International Radio and Television Society Foundation named him Stephen H. Coltrin Communications Professor of the Year for winning a case-study competition considering the growth of the Internet and advances in multimedia technology.

"Deb is the most dedicated professor I have ever seen," a nominator said. "He truly cares about his students and does his best to see that they succeed both in the classroom and in life in general. I’ve never heard him say ‘I’m busy, come back later,’ even though Deb is the busiest person I know."

Bialeschki joined UNC-CH in 1985, and has served as the director of graduate studies in the recreation and leisure studies department since 1996. Honored for outstanding teaching in the past, she is president of the Society of Park and Recreation Educators, a branch of the National Recreation and Park Association. She chairs the American Camping Association’s national standards board, which is responsible for accrediting youth camps. A native of Tolono, Ill., she also served as the World Leisure and Recreation Association’s delegate to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women and the International Conference for Women in Beijing.

"Deb always asked for our opinions and made it clear when she was expressing her own," a nominator said. "Her teaching style is such that we utilized class time without being lectured to for 75 minutes. She’s helpful and enthusiastic about the students learning and developing their own personal philosophies."

"The enthusiasm Dr. Church displays in lectures is contagious and keeps the class interested and excited to learn more," a nominator said. "Dr. Church is open and approachable and willing to do almost anything for his students."

Crimmins joined the faculty in 1981, and won the Research Development Award at UNC-CH in 1988. The chemistry department’s director of graduate studies, Crimmins won the Senior Class Favorite Faculty Award in 1997. In 1986, he was named an Alfred P. Sloan Fellow, which awards recipients with $25,000 for research. Born in East St. Louis, Ill., he has published more than 50 chemistry-related articles and books, and he currently is researching the laboratory synthesis of naturally occurring anti-cancer agents. He holds grants for the synthesis of polyketides and antiviral nucleoside libraries from Glaxo-Wellcome and the National Institutes of Health.

"Dr. Crimmins is without a doubt the best professor I have ever had at taking complicated material and making it relatively easy to understand," a nominator said. "The complex visualization required for comprehension of parts of organic chemistry became much more simple due to Dr. Crimmins’ wonderful ability to paint pictures with words and his adept use of models and computer graphics in the classroom."

DeSaix, who joined UNC-CH in 1972, advised 225 biology and pre-health major students in the General College every semester for 20 years before becoming a health-professions adviser in 1996.

DeSaix has served as implementation director for the Howard Hughes-funded Program for Minority Advancement in the Biomolecular Sciences, and also is adjunct faculty for the program. She mentored members of the N.C. Teaching Fellows Program from 1990-1998. A native North Carolinian, she has served on a number of university committees, including the Educational Policy Committee and the University Faculty Grievance Committee.

"She is a fantastic lecturer, her sharp wit and fascinating stories (many from real experiences) can liven up even the dullest material," a nominator said.

Another nominator said, "Dr. DeSaix conveys a genuine enthusiasm for biology to her students. She also uses humor in ways that make for an enjoyable learning process."

- 30 -

Note: For photos, please contact University photographer Dan Sears at 919-962-8592