The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education today (Nov. 18) named Robert von Dassanowsky, associate professor, Languages and Cultures, and Visual and Performing Arts, at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs the 2004 Colorado Professor of the Year.
Von Dassanowsky was selected from among nearly 400 top professors in the United States. A member of the university faculty since 1993, von Dassanowsky current serves as chair of the university’s Languages and Cultures Department and directs the Film Studies program. His areas of expertise include German and Austrian literature and culture, international cinema history and film theory, and popular culture. He earned bachelor’s, master’s and a PhD. in Germanic languages from the University of California, Los Angeles.
“Robert von Dassanowsky’s teaching abilities are well known to most of us on campus,” CU-Colorado Springs Chancellor Pam Shockley-Zalabak said. “To have his work recognized nationally is both gratifying and warranted.”
Von Dassanowsky said:
“I am very happy that my teaching and my research which are strongly united are considered worthy of such recognition. One is only as good as the students allow and the institution supports. I am proud to have brought the first CASE award to CU-Colorado Springs and hope this honor will find many future recipients among the institution’s impressive faculty.”
CASE established the Professors of the Year program in 1981 and the Carnegie Foundation became the co-sponsor a year later. TIAA-CREF, one of America’s leading financial services organizations and higher education’s premier retirement system, became the primary sponsor for the awards ceremony in 2000. Additional support for the program is received from the American Association of Community Colleges and other various higher education associations.
This year there are winners in 45 states and the District of Columbia. CASE assembled two preliminary panels of judges to select finalists. The Carnegie Foundation then convened the third and final panel, which selected four national winners and state winners. He/She was selected from faculty members nominated by colleges and universities throughout the country.
The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching was founded in 1905 by Andrew Carnegie “to do all things necessary to encourage, uphold and dignify the profession of teaching.” The Foundation is the only advanced-study center for teachers in the world and the third-oldest foundation in the nation. Its nonprofit research activities are conducted by a small group of distinguished scholars.
The Council for Advancement and Support of Education is the largest international association of educational institutions, with more than 3,200 colleges, universities, and independent elementary and secondary schools in nearly 50 countries, including the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the United Kingdom. Representing these institutions are more than 38,000 professionals in the disciplines of alumni relations, communications, and fund raising. Additional affiliates include educationally related nonprofit organizations and commercial firms.
CU-Colorado Springs, located on Austin Bluffs Parkway in northeast Colorado Springs, is the fastest growing university in Colorado and one of the fastest growing universities in the nation. The university offers 25 bachelor’s degrees, 17 master’s and two doctoral degrees. The campus enrolls about 7,800 students annually.