John F Schnabel Distinguished Contributions to Teaching Award

John F. Schnabel (1932-2005) served for a quarter of a century in the Sociology Department at University of West Virginia. He was a major advocate for teaching undergraduates, both within the ASA and within the NCSA. He was an early leader in the ASA’s early ‘Projects on Teaching’ and in the Departmental Resources Group, conducting many workshops on innovative teaching. He was tireless in serving in various leadership roles and as a mentor to new faculty.

John was instrumental in founding the NCSA Teaching Committee and served as its first Chair from 1985 to 1988.  Prior to the founding of that committee, annual NCSA meetings typically had one or two teaching sessions (out of more than a hundred sessions).  By the end of his three-year tenure as Chair, there were eight. Under his tutelage, subsequent committee chairs worked to expand the teaching program, and by the early 1990s, the NCSA would annually list more than twenty teaching sessions.  The criteria and the process for the NCSA’s Distinguished Contributions to Teaching Award were crafted by John. He held many leadership positions in the NCSA Council and was always a solid source of advice and counsel. He was a tireless worker who energized all who knew him.

The NCSA Teaching Committee is now calling for nominations (and re-nominations) for the John F. Schnabel Distinguished Contributions to Teaching Award. This award may be given to an individual, a department, a program, or an institution. Individuals nominated for the award must be a member of the NCSA. Departments, programs, or institutions nominated for the award must be located in the NCSA region.

The principal criterion for the award is excellence in some activity enhancing the teaching of Sociology for the NCSA or within the North Central region.

Candidates should exhibit teaching excellence in a variety of capacities, including with students, with colleagues, and for the NCSA. As such, the selection committee looks for evidence that candidates have a record of:

• Sharing pioneering innovations in curriculum design
• Developing creative instructional materials
• Publishing and/or presentations about teaching sociology
• Contributing to the teaching emphasis of NCSA
• Facilitating faculty developmental efforts

Candidates need not have accomplishments in each of these areas to be selected for the award.

2025 Nominations
will open August 12, 2024

The deadline for 2025 nominations is November 15, 2024.

Have Questions?

Contact Schnabel Committee Chair

Gregory Kordsmeier, Indiana University Southwest

gkordsme@iu.edu

Congratulations to our 2024 Recipient

Tamika Odum  (University of Cincinnati, Blue Ash)