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younger Gerry Brenner at work in his UM classroom.
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UM
lands another Montana
Professor of the Year Award
Gerry
Brenner, a retired University of Montana English professor, may be
gone from campus, but he certainly is not forgotten. This fall, Brenner
was named the 2003 Montana Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation
for the Advancement of Teaching and the national Council for the Advancement
and Support of Education.
This is the fourth year running that a UM faculty member has won the
prestigious honor, which recognizes one professor from each state
for outstanding teaching at the undergraduate level.
UM President George Dennison and a host of students and alumni nominated
Brenner for the award last spring during his final semester of teaching.
A revered member of the University’s Department of English since
1968, Brenner retired at the end of the 2002-03 academic year.
He has since moved to Tucson, Ariz., although he will return to Missoula
to receive his award during the annual Staff/Faculty Holiday Party
hosted by the president on Wednesday, Dec. 17.
In the nomination letter, President Dennison cited Brenner’s
“profound love of teaching, his skill in the profession and
his passion for the subjects he teaches” as characteristics
that distinguished him as a popular professor among students and colleagues
alike.
“He goes well beyond conveying information to students, as unfortunately
some professors do not,” Dennison wrote. “He insists that
the students become engaged, and he has refined methods of encouraging
them to think critically. He provokes students to exercise their curiosity,
imagination, intellect and emotions, and to explore new ways of thinking,
learning and knowing.
“For these reasons, he has become a memorable teacher and friend
— albeit a demanding one — to many graduates who continue
to correspond with him many years after leaving the University. They
all say that they still learn from him through the correspondence
and conversation.”
One former student — Drew Colenbrander, who himself teaches
college English in Michigan — explained that he discovered how
to learn from Professor Brenner. He wrote: “The first time I
looked at a graded essay from Gerry, I was stunned that his response
was nearly a page long. Somewhere on that page was a grade, but that
single letter was insignificant in relation to the words Gerry had
written to me.
“He complimented me on my ideas, explained where my writing
was strong and gently pointed out areas that I could improve on next
time. Thanks to Gerry, I began to see learning as a continual process
of improvement, a message at the center of my own courses today.”
Brenner was known among his students for diligently working to place
his most gifted in local internship programs to help them improve
their skills and hone their abilities.
He consistently received high marks from students on semester evaluations
and earned the University’s highest teaching and scholarly awards.
In 1988 graduating seniors voted him the Most Inspirational Teacher
they had experienced while attending the University. He received the
University’s Distinguished Teacher Award in 1993. And just last
spring his colleagues honored him as the University’s 2003 Distinguished
Scholar.
Never one to rest on his laurels, Professor Brenner continually challenged
himself in an effort to improve as a teacher at the undergraduate
level. He taught abroad for one academic year each of the last three
decades.
Brenner is an internationally recognized expert on Ernest Hemingway
and has written four books about the world-renowned author. He also
has published numerous articles in scholarly journals and delivered
many professional presentations on literary and composition editing
topics at regional, national and international conferences.
CASE established the Professors of the Year program in 1981 and administers
it with the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
Brenner joins a handful of UM faculty members who have earned the
top professor title: music Professor Esther England in 2002, economics
Professor John Photiades in 2001, history Professor Mehrdad Kia in
2000, health and human performance Professor Annie Sondag in 1998
and UM Regents Professor Paul Lauren in 1991.
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