Four faculty members in engineering, animal science, law and history were recognized last week by colleagues at UC Davis for their outstanding teaching abilities. Receiving Distinguished Teaching Awards from the campus division of the Academic Senate were Mark Rashid, a professor of civil and environmental engineering; Thomas Famula, a professor of animal science; Edward Imwinkelried, a professor of law; and Michael Saler, a professor of history. The awards, established in 1973, are given annually during the spring quarter to as many as four faculty members. The honor carries a monetary award for each recipient and for their academic departments. Mark Rashid "There is no such thing as an 'easy A' in Dr. Rashid's vocabulary," his students report, but they enthusiastically give him that grade for his work in the classroom. Rashid, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, came to UC Davis in 1993. In his research, he formulates theoretical and computer models that can help predict the fracture or collapse of engineered structures such as bridges, buildings, aircraft and machines. He teaches three or four courses yearly and also is the graduate adviser in his department. "When he teaches a course, he really wants to make sure the students are learning," one of his students wrote in nominating Rashid for the teaching award. "Specifically, in the third course I took from him, he questioned me midquarter on my opinion of how the class was going. Were his lectures clear? Was there something more he could be doing? It was really encouraging to see a professor willing to make changes midcourse, if necessary, to ensure everyone understood the topics." Professor Emeritus Leonard Herrmann ranked Rashid among the best of all the faculty members with whom he worked in his 34 years in the College of Engineering. "He achieves a balance between teaching and research which never slights either his undergraduate or graduate students," Herrmann wrote. Tom Famula Quantitative genetics is a subject that could be "drier and rougher than any sandpaper," but Tom Famula, a professor of animal science, has the uncanny ability to bring even that subject to life, say his students. Famula, who is an authority on mathematical genetics models particularly as they apply to animal growth and lactation, truly seems to "embrace the opportunity to teach," according to his colleagues. Carrying a heavy research obligation, Famula, a UC Davis faculty member for 18 years, might be expected to teach two courses per year. Instead, he annually teaches three undergraduate courses and team-teaches one graduate course. Students consistently give him high marks for his teaching. On a scale of 1 to 5, Famula has received during the past several years an average ranking of 4.9 from students representing a broad range of majors and grade levels. Students note that he doesn't water down the subject matter but presents difficult concepts in a manner that can be easily understood. He also is willing to go the extra mile to make sure his students succeed. When a dozen graduate students last year failed to earn at least the "B" grade necessary to proceed to their qualifying examinations, Famula spontaneously offered the course again during the summer just so the students would not have to wait an entire year to repeat the class. He trains eight to 10 graduate teaching assistants annually, modeling "the art of effective teaching" and instilling in these graduate students a "high value for teaching," note his colleagues. He visits each of the 14 laboratory classes, participates with students in lab exercises and ensures that the students in those labs are receiving high-quality instruction. One former student who went on to receive a graduate-student teaching award recalled Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef asking the award winners to remember and mentally thank the person who had given them the motivation to succeed academically. "I silently thanked Dr. Famula," the student said. Edward Imwinkelried Since joining the law school in 1985, Edward Imwinkelried has been one of the most highly rated instructors among tenured faculty. Ten years ago, he received the school's Distinguished Teaching Award. Comments on students' evaluations testify to the quality of his teaching. One student wrote, "The quintessential professor!" Another wrote, "Greatest professor to ever live?!? ... my hero." Yet another,"Contracts God." Kevin Johnson, the law school's associate dean for academic affairs, says the glowing evaluations are impressive because Imwinkelried's courses in contracts, evidence and trial practice are consistently large and cover some of the most difficult material in the curriculum. Johnson says the professor is beloved by his students. "He earns that affection by the painstaking preparation and hard work that he puts into his teaching responsibilities. "Put simply," Johnson wrote in a nomination letter, "Professor Imwinkelried cares about his students." During his three-hour exams, Imwinkelried sits in a chair outside the room so he is available if students have questions. And he offers typed, detailed comments on every midyear examination in his contracts class. For several years, he also has helped coach law students on trial skills in preparation for an annual national competition. "His amazing record of teaching is all the more astounding," Johnson says, "when one considers that he is one of the most prolific, and nationally and internationally known, scholars on the law-school faculty." Among Imwinkelried's numerous books and articles on evidence is Scientific Evidence, which examines DNA typing, forensic psychiatry and laser techniques for fingerprint detection. The book, now in its second edition, has been cited by the U.S. Supreme Court. Michael Saler To show students the results of consumer culture, production and economic globalization, history scholar Michael Saler brought his Tamagotchi virtual pet to class. Saler, an associate professor, used the electronic "pet" as an example of technological innovations of postwar Europe, discussed a production meeting in the West for the toy and reminded students of the industrialization-wary Luddites they'd studied earlier in the quarter. His approach-connecting students to the past by using examples from daily lives and popular culture-is one reason why Saler is being given an Academic Senate distinguished teaching award. Saler specializes in teaching European intellectual history, from 1800 to the mid-1970s; he also co-teaches courses in the history of Western civilization and Indian civilization. Saler "inspires intellectual curiosity among his students," says his colleague Catherine Kudlick, an associate history professor. "He invites students to experience learning as an odyssey of discovery, where people who might never dream of talking about something like the rise of aestheticism, the works of Nietzsche, or the crisis of modernism find themselves doing it naturally outside of class," Kudlick says. History department chair Ted Margadant points out that among Saler's teaching strengths are his intellectual breadth and ability to connect historical issues to the contemporary concerns of students and his imaginative approach in stimulating active learning during class. Students praise Saler's regard for undergraduates. He "treats student comments and questions with respect. He always provides a carefully considered response, rather than dismissing student concerns as trivial," says student Julie Kehew.