April 22, 1999
Contact: Bob Brickhouse 
(804) 924-6856


U.VA. GRADUATE TEACHING ASSISTANTS HONORED BY SEVEN SOCIETY 
	Eleven graduate teaching assistants from throughout the
University of Virginia were honored April 21 at the Rotunda during the
Third Annual Seven Society Awards Banquet.
	The teaching assistants are among the finalists for the Seven
Society Graduate Fellowship for Superb Teaching, a $7,000 award
initiated by the Seven Society to recognize a graduate teaching
assistant who embodies the highest ideals of teaching at the University:
dedication to students, substantial knowledge of the subject matter, and
skill in conveying passion for that knowledge. The 1999 award, announced
at the banquet, went to Amy Feely of the Department of History.
	The winner of the 1999 Dr. Frank Finger Graduate Fellowship also
was announced at the banquet. Funded by a bequest of J. Huston
McCollough III in honor of Frank Finger, emeritus professor of
psychology, the fellowship for $4,000 is awarded each year to a graduate
teaching assistant from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, in
recognition of stimulating and organized classroom teaching. The 1999
fellowship went to Michael Thomas of the Department of Religious
Studies.
	Unlike other teaching awards which are based on departmental or
faculty recommendations, nominations for the Seven Society Fellowship
are made solely by former students. Nearly 100 undergraduates from
throughout the various schools of the University responded to the call
for nominations, writing lengthy letters via e-mail detailing why their
TA was most deserving of this award.
 	Undergraduate involvement continued into the selection process
as four students served on the selection committee. These included
Engineering student Patrick Hickie and Arts and Sciences student
representatives Jan Dodoo, Chris Slack, and Jovita Brantley. Faculty
members included associate professors Dean Harman of Chemistry (chair of
the selection committee) and Lisa Reilly of Architecture; assistant dean
Paxton Marshall of Engineering; and Jann Lacoss, faculty consultant at
the Teaching Resource Center.
 	 "The decisions of the committee were difficult, given the high
standards set by the finalists," said Lacoss. "The nominees for this
award exemplify outstanding teaching at the University. They 
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have quite obviously had a great impact on undergraduates and are all
worthy of recognition for their accomplishments."
	Despite the fact that only 11 teaching assistants could receive
certificates and only one won the $7,000 monetary award, the nomination
process has produced a plethora of true winners -- teaching assistants
who have made a difference in students' lives, Lacoss said. "The quality
and quantity of nominations received from students is a testament to the
excellence of teaching assistants at the University."
	 Finalists honored, in addition to Feely and Thomas, included:
„Liam Buckley (Department of Anthropology)
„John Froitzheim (Department of Government and Foreign Affairs)
„Suzanne Guihard (School of Engineering and Applied Sciences,
Department of Materials Science)
„Sarah Hand (Department of History)
„Clare Kilbane (Curry School of Education, Department of Leadership,
Foundations, and Policy)
„Fred Klunk (Department of Economics)
„Hun Lye (Department of Religious Studies)
„Ann Martella (Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese) 
„Trent Teti (Department of Philosophy)

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	For additional information please contact Jann Lacoss at the
Teaching Resource Center, (804) 982-2815. Television reporters should
contact the TV News Office at (804) 924-7550.