We were very pleased to present the 2007 University Honors Excellence in Teaching Award to an outstanding faculty member, M.J. Woeste from the Department of Communication in the McMicken College of Arts and Sciences.

M.J. has channeled his creativity and passion into developing exceptional learning opportunities for his students. M.J. has integrated experiential learning into each of his honors courses and, from this, his students have benefited tremendously.

MJ taught two Honors courses during the 2006-07 academic year:

• In the fall, M.J. taught an honors course titled “Cincinnati, Poverty and Intercultural Communication.” One of this year’s graduating seniors was so impacted by this course that she presented on her experiences and learning at a national honors conference.
  
• During winter quarter, M.J. taught “Appalachian Culture and Intercultural Communication,” a course that culminated in a spring break service trip to central Kentucky in which M.J. and his students worked to rehab homes in an Appalachia community.
  

These classes are exceptional examples of what honors education is all about.

The work that M.J. does is innovative, unique and relevant. He has the courage to bring important issues to the forefront, work with students to apply theory, and then challenge them to leave their comfort zone.

One student commented “The Appalachian Culture class was one of the best I’ve taken at UC…I really enjoyed the community that was formed between all of the students and M.J. M.J. was a great professor and worked really well with all of us. It’s great to hear that he is receiving the Honors Teaching Award.”

Another said “M.J. lives what he is teaching. I understand that he spends quite a bit of his time volunteering and participating in the community.”

Finally, another student stated: “M.J. is innovative and not afraid to challenge his students. As an Honors teacher, I believe that this is exactly what we need. He is highly motivated to share his experiences and expertise. The experiential component of the Cincinnati/Poverty class was one of the most amazing things that I have done throughout my time at UC and I am thankful to M.J. for giving me the opportunity.”

We are thankful for M.J.'s remarkable contributions to the University of Cincinnati, to the University Honors Program and, most importantly, to his students. We look forward to M.J.'s continuing involvement in honors education at UC!