Alyson Hagy Honored for Excellent Teaching |
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Because she is an accomplished and well-recognized writer, Alyson Hagy, associate professor in the Department of English, has established herself as one of the University of Wyoming's most respected teachers. She is the recipient of a John P. Ellbogen Meritorious Classroom Teaching Award.
The other recipients are Marsha Fay Knight, professor in the Department of Theatre and Dance; Allyn Ontko, assistant professor in the School of Pharmacy; Timothy Robinson, associate professor in the Department of Statistics; and Katrina Zook, associate professor in the Department of Music.
The awards are made possible by a fund established by Ellbogen to "foster, encourage and reward excellence in classroom teaching at UW." Winners are selected from a list nominated by students, and the awards are based entirely on classroom performance and helpfulness to students. A native of Worland, Ellbogen established an endowment for teaching awards in appreciation for his family and state's encouragement of education.
Hagy teaches creative writing to students of all levels-from beginners to accomplished graduate students in the university's new M.F.A. program, which she lead in designing and hiring a program director. She is loved by her students for teaching writing in a safe and sheltering environment, for her kindness, and for her mentoring.
As a mentor, Hagy advises students about grant applications, and spends her personal time to provide them with constructive criticism about their drafts. The critiques from Hagy are invaluable to students. Hagy has written several novels, including her most recent work, "Snow, Ashes," which will be published this spring by Graywolf Press; and a collection of short stories.
Students praise Hagy for her easy style and approachability and the "the amount of time she spends helping us to improve," as one student wrote. She assists them with their stories, both in her office and in her own home.
Taking a writing course can often be intimidating for students. As one student wrote, "Often times a student's enthusiasm for a subject can be nullified by having a bad experience with a teacher. I found this to be extremely untrue with professor Hagy. I was excited about writing before this class and I'm excited after this class. She is a great teacher with clear organization, clear expectations, and an ability to tell you exactly what is wrong with your writing without being discouraging."
Hagy's workshop-style classes leave students with ideas for how to stretch themselves as writers. Another student noted that Hagy's policy of not assigning letter grades to early work "facilitates the notion that we are here to write and to learn to write better, not simply to receive a grade."
While she receives high praise from her students, many students wrote that Hagy's classes are not to be taken lightly. She demands heavy reading and writing, and, as one student wrote, "the amount of effort I had to put into it really improved my work ethic."
A faculty member at UW since 1996, Hagy has been recognized for her contributions to UW in the past with two College of Arts and Sciences awards for Extraordinary Merit in Teaching and one award for Extraordinary Merit in Research. She holds an M.F.A. degree (1985) from the University of Michigan and a bachelor's degree cum laude (1982) from Williams College in Williamstown, Mass.
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Alyson Hagy. (UW Photo) Posted on Tuesday, May 01, 2007
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