CESAA Honors Teaching

Two SEAS professors have been selected as the recipients of this year's Columbia Engineering School Alumni Association (CESAA) Distinguished Faculty Teaching Awards. CESAA President Chester Lee '70, '74 M.B.A. announced the selection of David E. Keyes, left, The Fu Foundation Professor of Applied Mathematics in the Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics, and Professor Kenneth A. Ross, right, of the Department of Computer Science as this year's awardees. Mr. Lee will present the award to Professors Keyes and Ross at Class Day ceremonies on Monday, May 19.

 

"The Columbia Engineering School Alumni Association created this award more than a decade ago to recognize the exceptional commitment of members of the SEAS faculty to undergraduate education," said Mr. Lee. "This year, I am pleased to present these awards to two senior faculty members, a testament to their continuing faithfulness to the central mission of teaching undergraduates."

 

The awardees were selected by a Committee of the Alumni Association chaired by Eric Schon '68, with representation from the student body, and based on nominations from the students themselves. The Board of Managers of the Columbia Engineering School Alumni Association voted unanimously to approve the selection.

 

Students enthusiastically wrote that courses taught by these professors were the best they have taken at Columbia. The qualities that both professors share and the ones most frequently mentioned by students are their enthusiasm for the subject matter, caring attitude, approachability, responsiveness to student concerns, and the ability to make complex subject matter understandable.