Professor Dan Thomas will be presented with the 2016 John O. Chellevold Student Award for Excellence in Teaching and Professional Service Thursday, April 7, at 10 a.m., in Neumann Auditorium on the Wartburg College campus. 
Students selected Thomas, professor of political science, as the recipient of one of four awards. The other honorees are Samantha Larimer Bousquet, associate professor of biology, Advisor of the Year Award; Jean Buckingham, camps, conferences and event scheduling manager, Outstanding Administrative Staff Award; and Lori Backer, cleaning staff, Outstanding Non-Administrative Staff Award.
Thomas and Bousquet will receive their awards during the Excellence in Teaching and Scholarship Convocation. The convocation is held in conjunction with the college’s Research, Internship and Creative Endeavor (RICE) Day. Buckingham and Backer will be honored at a Student Senate staff appreciation luncheon Tuesday, April 12, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Hagemann Castle Room in Saemann Student Center.
“I’m surprised and honored to be recognized, particularly in light of my impending retirement,” Thomas said. “I have had numerous colleagues over the years who were widely known as effective teachers, yet were never recognized formally for their excellence with the Chellevold award. In a way, I feel like I’m serving as a surrogate on their behalf.”
One student nominator wrote, “Dr. Thomas is able to make the topic that he is teaching informative and interactive.
“He has increased my love for the field of political science,” the letter continued. “He has taught at Wartburg for many years and has touched countless lives. He is one professor that I know will affect my view on the field I am studying for years to come.”
The award honors the late John O. Chellevold, a longtime Wartburg mathematics professor and administrator. It was established by one of his former students, the late Ross Nielsen, a 1939 Wartburg graduate who went on to a distinguished teaching career at the University of Northern Iowa and credited Chellevold as his inspiration.
A student nominator characterized outstanding adviser Bousquet as someone who cares for her students and is always willing to take time out for them, even while on sabbatical.
“She is constantly visiting with students and sacrificing her time to help with any concern. … It’s evident she cares and is willing to put in the work to help students succeed.”
Dan Thomas
Students selected Thomas, professor of political science, as the recipient of one of four awards. The other honorees are Samantha Larimer Bousquet, associate professor of biology, Advisor of the Year Award; Jean Buckingham, camps, conferences and event scheduling manager, Outstanding Administrative Staff Award; and Lori Backer, cleaning staff, Outstanding Non-Administrative Staff Award.
Thomas and Bousquet will receive their awards during the Excellence in Teaching and Scholarship Convocation. The convocation is held in conjunction with the college’s Research, Internship and Creative Endeavor (RICE) Day. Buckingham and Backer will be honored at a Student Senate staff appreciation luncheon Tuesday, April 12, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Hagemann Castle Room in Saemann Student Center.
“I’m surprised and honored to be recognized, particularly in light of my impending retirement,” Thomas said. “I have had numerous colleagues over the years who were widely known as effective teachers, yet were never recognized formally for their excellence with the Chellevold award. In a way, I feel like I’m serving as a surrogate on their behalf.”
One student nominator wrote, “Dr. Thomas is able to make the topic that he is teaching informative and interactive.
“He has increased my love for the field of political science,” the letter continued. “He has taught at Wartburg for many years and has touched countless lives. He is one professor that I know will affect my view on the field I am studying for years to come.”
The award honors the late John O. Chellevold, a longtime Wartburg mathematics professor and administrator. It was established by one of his former students, the late Ross Nielsen, a 1939 Wartburg graduate who went on to a distinguished teaching career at the University of Northern Iowa and credited Chellevold as his inspiration.
A student nominator characterized outstanding adviser Bousquet as someone who cares for her students and is always willing to take time out for them, even while on sabbatical.
“She is constantly visiting with students and sacrificing her time to help with any concern. … It’s evident she cares and is willing to put in the work to help students succeed.”