Featured Faculty - March 2005
Associate Professor Jeff Drucker
Physics and Astronomy

Associate Professor Jeff Drucker has been a part of ASU faculty since 2000 in the Physics and Astronomy department. Previously he has been involved with ASU as a research scientist and post doctoral research associate from 1987 through 1994.
 
In addition to being a research mentor for both graduate and undergraduate students, he has been fortunate to teach the sections of introductory physics for students enrolled in the Barrett Honors College.
They key element that he enjoys at ASU most is, "the discovery of new knowledge and helping students to discover new knowledge through their research and classroom learning."

Featured Faculty - February 2005
Lecturer Steven Brown
Supply Chain Managmenent

Steven Brown has been teaching at Arizona State for the past 4 years, initially as an adjunct professor with several departments. He became a part of the Supply Chain Management department in the Fall of 2003 and is currently a Senior Lecturer with the department.

He currently teaches courses involving planning and control systems for supply chain management. He has taught IBS 300, Principles of International Business, for the Management Department during summer and winter sessions. He has also expanded into teaching Industrial Engineering in the past. According to the student that nominated him, "Steven lets everyone know how important we are and really takes pride in preparing us for our careers. I think that to be a great professor, one must see all of the value within each student and do his/her best to strengthen them...and he does exactly that."

Steven Brown's opinion about teaching can be summed up in the following quote, "It is all about the students - totally."

Featured Faculty - January 2005
Professor Jane Maienschein
Life Sciences

Professor Maienschein has been at Arizona State since 1981. Previously, she has been a part of the Biology and Philosophy departments. Currently she is a part of the School of Life Sciences, and Director of the Biology and Society Program. The courses she instructs are History of Medicine, the Biology and Society Research Colloquium, and other courses related to life sciences and society.

Professor Maienschein is dedicated to ASU because, "we have had excellent leadership that makes this a dynamic place rich with possibilities." She loves working with students who are open-minded, eager to learn, and full of commitment to make the world a better place. She feels that students at ASU are at least as smart as those when she was an undergrad at Yale. Professor Maienschein enjoys the environment at ASU. "It's fun to travel to meetings, organize workshops, and work together on special courses and research projects with such a great bunch of young people. I gives me hope for the future!"

The student that nominated Professor Maienschein feels that, "Dr. Maienschein always goes out of her way to help and encourage her students. She has been an advocate for all of her students and consistently goes above and beyond the call of duty to help her students learn and succeed."

Featured Faculty - December 2004
Assistant Professor Angela Wilson
History

Professor Wilson has been at Arizona State since 2000 just after receiving her Ph.D. from Cornell University. She is an assistant professor of Indigenous history and has taught American history survey courses as well. Her courses focus on the history of Native Americans.

She believes firmly in Bell Hooks' notion of "education as the practice of freedom" and it is this project that she brings into the classroom. Challenging students to move beyond the parameters for thought set by society is one of her highest priorities. This requires the development of strong critical thinking skills and her teaching effort is dedicated to the cultivation of those skills in students. Her active scholar background allows her to bring activism into the classroom. Student projects have included letter writing campaigns related to specific historical issues, educational outreach, and visual or performing arts for social change. She is, "astounded at the end of each semester by the creativity and power in these student-generated projects."

Several of her students recently chose to participate in the 2004 Dakota Commemorative March, a 7-day, 150-mile walk, to honor the Dakota people, primarily women and children, who were force-marched in 1862 from Lower Sioux to Fort Snelling in southern Minnesota in the first phase of expulsion from our homelands. Professor Wilson was an organizer for the march. One of her students explained the event as "life changing".

Featured Faculty - November 2004
Assistant Professor Karen Leong
Women's Studies Program

Professor Leong has been at ASU for five years, in the Women's Studies Program. She has worked with Asian Pacific American Studies, African and African American Studies, and History. The classes she teaches explore the intersections of gender, race, class, and sexuality with an emphasis on the experiences of African American, American Indian, Asian American, and Latina women in the United States. They also, teach Women and Popular
Culture, Women Warriors, and Women of Color, American Film and in the future, Women in Sports.

Professor Leong, challenges herself and her students to think critically and apply what they learn in the classroom to their lives and communities. What she enjoys most about teaching at ASU are the students. According to Professor Leong, " It's inspiring to teach talented students with such diverse experiences and backgrounds. I learn so much from them--their creativity and community commitment, their honest questions, and their engagement with the course material". She feels that it's important that all students have the opportunity to succeed academically and personally while they're at ASU. The student that nominated her feels that, "Dr. Leong has served as a mentor for myself and many other students, encouraging us to be activists in our community. She is constantly encouraging students to look beyond themselves and build alliances with diverse groups."

Featured Faculty - October 2004
Assistant Professor Wilson A. Francisco
Chemistry

Professor Francisco has been teaching Chemistry and Biochemistry at ASU since 1999. Entering his sixth year, he enjoys the quality and diversity of the students the ASU campus offers. He believes that he gets the opportunity to teach, interact and mentor some of the best students in the Nation.

The student that nominated him for Featured Faculty stated that, "Professor Francisco has contributed outside his classroom through mentorship, research in his laboratory, but importantly through his conscious efforts to provide opportunity to students who are driven to succeed."