They make otherwise difficult subjects such as history, mathematics and biochemistry comprehensible and give contemporary relevance to the age-old studies of religion and law.

Now these five West Virginia University faculty members are being recognized for their efforts as recipients of this year’s WVU Foundation Outstanding Teacher awards.

The honorees are:

• Katherine Aaslestad, associate professor of history

• andrdouglas pond cummings, associate professor of law

• Aaron Gale, assistant professor of religious studies

• Hong-Jian Lai, professor of mathematics

• Mary Wimmer, professor of biochemistry

  Katherine Aaslestad
  p. As the history department’s specialist on modern Germany , Aaslestad confronts students’preconceived notions about the country, World Wars I and II, National Socialism and the Holocaust. She challenges these Hollywood-influenced views by exposing students to alternative texts, films and documents.

She employs a lecture-discussion teaching style, relying on the Socratic method of enquiry to engage her students in the subject matter and help them identify major consequences, problems or interpretations of different historical events.

I rate her as one of the most demanding and intellectually challenging professors I had while a student at West Virginia University,Justin Dunleavy, a 2004 graduate who is a parliamentary researcher for the British Parliament, wrote in support of Aaslestad’s nomination.She had a passion for her subject matter, which was reflected in her teaching. Her lectures were as consistently dynamic as her assignments were creative.

Aaslestad, who joined the history faculty in 1997, also teaches courses on 19 th century Europe and western civilization and graduate readings on modern Europe .

She earned a bachelor’s degree from Mary Washington College in Fredericksburg , Va. , and master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana.

She is the author ofPlace and Politics: Local Identity, Civic Culture, and German Nationalism in North Germany during the Revolutionary Era.

andrdouglas pond cummings
p. A former Chicago lawyer, cummings brings his experience representing clients as varied as corporate giants, professional football players and Hollywood screenwriters to the classroom.

He also incorporates current events to make his course material relevant. In his entertainment law class, he shows the movie clips or plays the song lyrics that are the subject of litigation to teach critical analysis and bring relevance to the Socratic discussion. He has included the Martha Stewart case and the collapse of Tyco in class discussions about corporate governance and insider securities trading.

A member of the College of Law faculty since 2003, cummings was selected as the Professor of the Year by the law school graduating class and as Faculty Contributor of the Year by the West Virginia Law Review in 2005.

He teaches from a real-world perspective, using his amazing personal experiences and opportunities as a teaching tool,former student Laura Bossio wrote in a letter supporting cummings’nomination.Additionally, Professor cummings uses current events as a teaching tool, beginning each class with a discussion of happenings relevant to the topics we are discussing.

A native of Los Angeles , cummings obtained a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Brigham Young University in 1994 and a law degree from Howard University in 1997.

He has published numerous articles in scholarly journals throughout his career.

Aaron Gale
p. Since coming to WVU in 2000, Gale has revamped religious studies from a program whose Christian seminary-based classes rarely drew 30 students to an interdisciplinary program whose focus on major world religions attracts hundreds of students.

The Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States had something to do with that. In the wake of the attacks, Provost Gerald Lang called on faculty to develop courses that could help students understand a world suddenly reshaped by little known ideologies.

Gale’s contribution wasThe Faiths of Abraham,a course that examined Judaism, Christianity and Islam and quickly filled at 50 students. Bolstered by the course’s popularity, Gale created a second, broader class,Introduction to World Religions,and that offering is drawing 200 students.

Now coordinator of the religious studies program, Gale has also team-taught courses with faculty from other departments to give students different views of a topic.

He has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in religious studies from John Carroll University and a doctorate in biblical studies from Northwestern University .

He is the recipient of the 2004 Eberly College of Arts and Sciences Outstanding Teaching Award.

Hong-Jian Lai
p. Lai uses concrete examples of everyday life to make the abstract concepts of calculus easier for his students to understand.

He will point out how a car speedometer is an example of a derivative, the instantaneous rate of change of a function, or how an Ohio Turnpike police officer with knowledge of the mean value theorem can calculate if a motorist has exceeded the speed limit en route there.

It is at WVU I have become a more matured teacher,Lai said.I eventually recognized that teaching, like many other careers, requires meeting new challenges from time to time. I feel more and the more that good teaching will make a difference in a student’s life.

His students would agree.
p. He always managed to maintain a positive environment within the class as well as convey the information in an understandable and effective manner,Sarah Lamiano wrote in an evaluation of his class.I walked away from calculus having learned more about mathematics than ever before.

Lai began teaching at WVU in 1989 and was promoted to associate professor in 1995 and to professor in 2000. He obtained a bachelor’s degree in math at South China University of Technology in 1982 and a doctorate in math from Wayne State University in Detroit in 1988.

Mary Wimmer
p. Mary Wimmer has been teaching biochemistrythe chemistry of lifeto future physicians for more than 28 years.

As coordinator of the School of Medicine’s problem-based learning program, she has developed new clinical cases and introduced exercises to illustrate the connection between basic sciences and disease. The exercises require first-year medical students trace the root cause of a disease to each of the clinical symptoms and test results.

She also coordinates the two general biochemistry courses for first-year dental and pharmacy students.

As an instructor, Wimmer is known for her dynamic lectures involving a high level of organization. Her blackboard-lecturing style is repeatedly cited as another strength enabling students to be more involved. Students frequently comment about her willingness to meet with them outside the classroom to ensure they understand a concept.

The importance of Dr. Wimmer’s open-door policy cannot be stressed enough,student Justin Kupec wrote in support of her nomination.If you had questions about today’s lecture or for that matter, last week’s, Dr. Wimmer was (and is) the person to see.

She has a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the State University of New York at Albany and a doctorate in biochemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill . She has been the recipient of the School of Medicine’s Distinguished Teacher Award in 1982, 1993 and 2005.

The Outstanding Teacher award winners will each receive a $2,500 honorarium or a $5,000 U.S. savings bond from the WVU Foundation. They will accept their awards at the Weekend of Honors convocation at 7 p.m. April 21 in the Mountainlair ballrooms.

The WVU Foundation is a private nonprofit corporation that generates and provides support for West Virginia University.