Arizona State University - ASU Colleges at Lake Havasu City issued the following announcement on April 7
This year, the Associated Students of Arizona State University and the Graduate and Professional Student Association received a record 93 applications for the Centennial Professorship Award, an award given annually that recognizes and encourages Arizona State University faculty for outstanding leadership and instruction.
One of this year’s award recipients, Silvie Huijben, assistant professor at ASU’s Center for Evolution and Medicine, has found that teaching and mentoring students has brought a new sense of purpose to her work.
"Most knowledge has an expiration date, while critical thinking is needed for the rest of one’s life,” Huijben said. “I strive to teach my students how important the role of evolution is in many aspects of their lives. I aim to inspire them to ask big questions about the world around them. My ambition in teaching is to plant the seed of questioning — a practice that they will continue to use outside of the classroom.”
Spending years using evolutionary biology to study malaria around the globe, Huijben has traveled everywhere from Kenya and Barcelona, Spain, to Scotland and Pennsylvania. Today, she continues this work in her position at ASU’s School of Life Sciences and is passionate about not only sharing her expertise with her students, but fostering a new generation of critical thinkers.
Huijben came to ASU in February 2018, and began teaching her first course in the spring 2019 semester. In a short time, she’s managed to have a positive impact on her students through her creative approach and thoughtful instruction. Over the past year, Huijben has continued to improve upon her teaching skills through obtaining a certificate in effective college instruction, joining a School of Life Science’s reading group on teaching practices and attending a workshop on inclusive and effective college science classrooms in San Francisco.
“I was thrilled to find out that Dr. Huijben had received the Centennial Professorship Award from the GSPA and ASASU,” said Kenro Kusumi, director of the School of Life Sciences. “Dr. Huijben’s dedication to enriching the ASU student academic experience is remarkable, and she is an inspiration to faculty in the School of Life Sciences.”
In her evolution and advanced evolutionary medicine courses, Huijben strives to inspire students to think about evolution in their everyday lives and future careers, while creating an environment where they are encouraged. She also emphasizes the importance of peer- and self-learning. Brook Jensen, an evolutionary biology PhD student who has worked with Huijben in a variety of capacities including as a student, mentee and teacher’s assistant, urged Huijben to apply for the Centennial Professorship Award.
Original source can be found here.
Source: Arizona State University - ASU Colleges at Lake Havasu City
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