Philosophy professor Nancy Bauer was joined by students past and present yesterday as she received the Professor of the Year award in the Remis Sculpture Court. Some of Bauer's students participated in the laid-back ceremony - sponsored by the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate - by sharing their experiences from her classes.
The popular professor frequently draws students back to her courses for a second and even a third time. Senior Jed Fowler said that after having her as a professor the first time, he decided to take advantage of Bauer's multiple course offerings. "The amount of time she put into critiquing my papers was almost more than I put in myself," he said.
Students said Bauer is conscious of her students' feelings, and that she encourages strong feedback from her classes so that she can adapt to better satisfy students. She said she took this approach from lessons learned when she was a student. "When I stand at the front of the class at the beginning of the year, I see many Me's facing back at me," she said.
Bauer said she had a difficult time as an undergraduate, suffering from undiagnosed depression and often feeling lost. "I know my students are capable of more than they think they're capable of," she said.
One student described Bauer's ability to make material that he would normally find bland come alive through her energetic presentations. "I had a two-and-half hour class with difficult material," sophomore Alex Madva said. "She made it really engaging - I've never had that before."
After nearly a decade of indecision, Bauer decided to become a teacher when she was in her 30s. After completing a dissertation at Harvard University, a friend who taught at Tufts left for a sabbatical. When the University needed someone to fill in for a course on feminist philosophy, the friend suggested that Bauer could take the job.
Bauer taught occasional classes at Tufts for a few years before being offered a tenure track position in 1999. She said she has never regretted the decision to stay at Tufts. "I actually turned down a bunch of tenure track positions to come here," Bauer said. "I've never really taught a class here yet that I really didn't like."
Bauer's tenure at Tufts will be interrupted next year, however, when she takes a yearlong sabbatical at Harvard while working on her second book. Like her first, her next book will examine pornography within society. "It's about the different philosophical attempts to weigh in on the pornography debate," she said. Bauer believes that philosophy must examine issues on their philosophical merit alone, and not necessarily apply them to real world issues.
Though the book may be controversial, it will not be the first time Bauer has weighed into a debate. Earlier this year, she encouraged the University to stand up against The Primary Source after senior Iris Halpern charged the publication with sexual harassment.
The Professor of the Year Award was first given in the 1998-1999 academic year to associate professor of history Gerald Gill. Current Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Robin Kanarek received the award in 1999-2000 during her time as chair of the psychology department. The 2000-2001 award was given to three professors: chemistry lecturer Christopher Morse, Japanese lecturer Kiyoko Morita, and sociology lecturer Lee Vigilant, who is now teaching at the University of Minnesota.
In selecting Professor of the Year, the Senate elicits student nominations for professors who have made deep impacts on both their academic and personal lives. This year's questions focused on the ways the professor has "improved the academic environment at Tufts," and also "how they have benefited the surrounding community."
