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Show WSU honors education professor with award By Cathy McKitrick Signpost senior reporter Donald K. Sharpes, professor in teacher education at Weber State University, received the highest honor a faculty member can be given at the Faculty Awards Luncheon held May 14. "Receiving the John S. Hinckley Award cameasquite a surprise to me," Sharpes said. "I didn't even know I'd been nominated until I was contacted to submit information." Associate Provost Kathleen Lukken chaired the selection committee, which consisted of four faculty members and one board of trustees. Seven faculty members had been nominated, and President Paul Thompson made the final decision."Dr. Sharpes has been termed a Renaissance faculty member, because he has such a broad array of interests, abilities and accomplishments," Lukken said. Nominees for this award had to have outstanding accomplishments in three areas, including teaching, scholarship and service. "It was a great honor for me to receive this award, because the recognition came from colleagues across campus, outside of my own department," Sharpes said. Sharpes traveled recently to Kazakhstan, in South Central Asia, to deliver the keynote address at a conference for teacher educators from many socialist countries. "Once the Berlin Wall came down and the communist world opened up, educators in those countries began seeking knowledge to upgrade their systems. Their educational programs are in the midst of transition, and they realize that teacher training directly affects the future of their countries," Sharpes said. He came to WSU in 1978 to implement WSU's first graduate program, which enables teachers to pursue their masters degree in curriculum and education. "Most of the classes that I teach take place between 4 p.m. and 10 p.m. to accommodate individuals who teach in area schools during the day and fur- r, y I Sk Nebf tS state T RECYCL ( Participate & WHY? 'V Because this needs it. ml Donald K. Sharpes ther their own education at night," Sharpes said. He has also written twelve books, which include textbooks, travel experiences and collections of poetry. His book called "The Prow" won the Cortez Prize in 1980. He also received the Utah Original Writing in Poetry Award in 1984. He has served as a visiting professor to Qinghai Teachers College in The People's Republic of China, the University of Pretoria in the Republic of South Africa and Northeast London Polytechnic. Sharpes was a Senior Visiting Fellow at the University of Sussex and a consultant and Senior Fulbright Scholar at the 'Ministry of Education in Malaysia.Last month he received the Distinguished Service Award in Education from the Utah Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters. In addition to these accomplishments, he continues to write occasionally for the Salt Lake Tribune. One of his recent editorials appeared on September 28, 1995, and addressed the crisis that higher education faces today. His motivation for training teachers is shaped by his own love for learning. "I like stimulating the minds of teachers; and I gain satisfaction when I see them get excited, because I know that they'll take that excitement into their own classrooms," Sharpes said. "My philosophy of education, simplified, is to challenge people to think through their opinions, then discover new learning on their own." Tenure From front page outside the college," Alston said. According to Smith, there are multiple criteria to consider and professors must obtain recommendations from the department, the college and the dean. Each department has its own specific requirements, but all include three main critera for obtaining tenure: teaching performance, professional contributions and service to the university. While Alston and Crawford have different views on the value of tenure, they agree on the necessity of an open discussion of all ideas in the university setting. "I think I can be ethically controversial in the classroom and in the community without the protection of tenure," Crawford wrote, contending that if professors are fired for freely expressing unpopular opinions, they can contest that firing in court. Alston, on the other hand, said tenure also protects professors from themselves. "What we want academics to do is look through multiple sets of glasses," Alston said. "If I'm threatened with job security, I'll chose not to do it, and in that sense society's interests are compromised."While Alston sees tenure as protecting vigorous academic pursuits, others believe tenure may cause stagnant and uncaring teaching. Psychology Professor Dr. Janine Miller Lund said that as a general behavioral principle, when rewards are not based on the work a person does, the work suffers. In the case of tenure, "if rewards are not contingent on good Ln ZmCr o STOW-IT Features Heavy Duty Steel Construction I Convenient, Secure, Affordable Fast Delivery & Pick-up N driving you nuts? Full For Sale (801)977-8885 mfm A M ITr 1995 W. Indiana Avenue " Salt lake City. UT B4104 W I mJ VV"I I RJFWfWTEDJJWAMJLABLE J Rates are LOW, don't miss WESTERN I It s FREE STATES teaching but are protected by tenure, then there's no encouragement to improve teaching," she said. Provost Smith said that tenure does not insure that a professor cannot be fired if he or she is found to be incompetent. Student body president-elect Jason Whelan said "Tenure is important for the university community, but tenure shouldn't be so untouchable. I don't likehow it breeds stagnation." He said, for example, that tenured professors are not required to have student evaluations. Senior James McDougal said avoiding stagnation is important "especially in an everchanging field." He said that in chemistry, . things may not change as fast as in other fields, such as education. "If you stagnate, your students suffer," McDougal said. But, McDougal pointed out that tenured Alston has never stagnated in his views. "I exercise my academic freedom because of tenure," Alston asserted. "Western society created universities to provide a bulwark against threats to individual freedom, against the threat of coersion by groups." With tenure, "faculty are more apt to discuss openly all points of view, not just those popular with the dominant culture," he said. Crawford wrote an opposing opinion. "What bothers me about tenure is the privileging itbestows, the manner in which it entrenches the status quo, and promotes a hierarchy that acknowledges some and disenfranchises others," he said. "Tenured professors who are awesome were always good," noted senior Chris Paulson. "I think the tenured part is good, but when you let it get to your head, you don't progress." 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