CARL LAM
Staff Writer
You read about them first in The Leader when they were featured as a part of the Adjunct Spotlight series. But now, two professors have been recognized statewide for their efforts in teaching by the Chancellor of the entire SUNY system.
Adjunct professor of communication Amber Rinehart and adjunct professor of music Maureen Yuen have earned the first ever Chancellor’s Award for Adjunct Teaching. The award is a system-level honor that recognizes superior professional achievement and the continued encouragement for the pursuit of excellence.
According to the website detailing the award, individuals chosen for this honor are role models for the entire SUNY community. Nearly four dozen adjunct faculty members won the award from 23 campuses.
In a news release, Chancellor Nancy Zimpher addressed the importance adjunct faculty play in the university setting.
“Adjunct teachers are a key component of the SUNY faculty, providing top-quality instruction and making an important contribution to academic success and degree completion among students,” said Chancellor Zimpher. “Those honored with our inaugural awards today are truly the best of the best, having demonstrated extraordinary dedication to their students and an exceptional commitment to teaching excellence. Congratulations to all of this year’s honorees.”
Rinehart has been no stranger to the campus. She’s been a professor here since 2006 and has taught over 75 classes during that timeframe. She’s also tabulated how many students she’s taught over the past eight years, and that number is over 2,500.
“More than anything, I’m just so honored to have been recognized even for my efforts with the students,” Rinehart said. “I know this award didn’t come from the students but I’m so thankful to all of them for all the support and effort they’ve given me through the years.”
Rinehart didn’t know how to feel about winning in the award and attributed it to maybe still being in a state of shock.
“It’s just so unexpected. I’ve won other things before but this is at a completely different level,” she said. “I never expected that kind of recognition. I feel like as an adjunct especially, you don’t teach for money or awards, you teach because we absolutely love it. But then to get some recognition at this level on top of that is so humbling.”
Department c h a i r K a y McDonough has utilized Rinehart as a faculty member for the past eight years by having her teach six different courses offered in the department.
“Amber is phenomenal and one of the things she’s really good at is tying in theory in a way that students can understand and enjoy. She’s very much in touch with popular culture,” McDonough said. “I sat in on one of her classes and you can just see the light bulbs going off in the students because they’re understanding the references.”
Most of all, McDonough is proud of Rinehart for winning this prestigious award.
“It’s the first time that Chancellor has given out an award to adjunct teachers and the fact that she’s our own graduate makes us particularly proud,” McDonough said.
Yuen, the second recipient of this award, has been here since 2004 teaching violin in the School of Music. She found out about the award during a weekly seminar class in front of the entire string area.
“I was shocked and that wasn’t the place where I thought I would learn of that. I was really touched by the reaction of everybody in the hall,” Yuen said.
The room roared with applause as string area coordinator, Dr. Harry Jacobson announced the achievement.
Yuen had a similar reaction Rinehart in suggesting that she’s not in the field of teaching to earn awards.
“It’s always nice to have your work recognized but it’s certainly not the reason we do our work. I feel like all of us here are kind of like unsung champions of education,” Yuen said.
Jacobson has worked with Yuen for many years and said that she contributes in a variety of ways including attending faculty meetings, joining search committees and performing chamber music with the other faculty members.
“If we didn’t have someone of her quality and consistency here, it would make my job a lot harder coordinating strings,” Jacobson said.
The awards will be presented at the All-Campus Meeting, which will be held in August before the start of classes for the fall semester.