Established by the Harvard Extension School in memory of Dr. Petra T. Shattuck, a distinguished and dedicated teacher in the program, who died of a cerebral hemorrhage in the spring of 1988, the Petra T. Shattuck Excellence in Teaching Awards are presented annually to honor outstanding teaching in the Extension program. This year, the three recipients were Dr. Ellsworth Lapham Fersch, Professor Charles Hallisey, and Dr. Ted Tsomides.

Ellsworth Fersch, a Lecturer on Psychology at the Harvard Medical School, has taught in the Division of Continuing Education for 18 years. His courses--Law and Psychology, Crime and Justice and Law and Ethics: Making the Moral Decision--have served as gateways for many students beginning their studies. One of them wrote: "Crime and Justice was my first course in 30 years, and my confidence level was pretty low, but Dr. Fersch made re-entry a wonderful experience for me. I am now planning on earning a master's degree in psychology."

Charles Hallisey is the John Loeb Associate Professor of the Humanities at Harvard University. His courses, Comparative Religious Ethics, Introduction to Buddhism, and Introduction to Hinduism have inspired many students to nominate him for this award. In one nomination, a student wrote, "Professor Hallisey is funny, challenging, approachable, kind, and inspiring--a teaching style I wish all professors would emulate."

Ted Tsomides, Assistant Senior Tutor at Dudley House, Harvard University, has taught math courses at the Extension School for the last 11 years. In nominating Mr. Tsomides, one student in his Accelerated Precalculus wrote: "Mr. Tsomides is a very entertaining math teacher. For once, not an oxymoron." Another commented, "Ted is able to communicate the subtleties of mathematics to all of his students, motivating them to grasp the workings of algebra and trigonometry and put these skills into practice." Tsomides was unable to accept his award in person because he was receiving his MD degree from Harvard Medical School at the same hour.

A specialized teaching award, the Carmen S. Bonanno Excellence in Foreign Language Teaching Award, was established in 1990 by the family and friends of the late Carmen S. Bonanno, who studied languages at the Harvard Extension School more than 60 years ago.

The award was presented this June to Mary G. Berg, Lecturer on History and Literature at Harvard University. Her enthusiasm for her courses, Spanish: Reading for Information and Spanish: Reading and Translation, and her compassion for her students have earned her a perfect rating of five on a five-point scale. One of her students wrote: "This course was a painless, wonderful way to be introduced to a language. Dr. Berg is a credit to the Extension School and her profession, and a gift and a treasure to us, her students."

Established in 1991 by James E. Conway, ALB '85, currently Director of Development Computing Service at Harvard University Development Office, the James E. Conway Excellence in Teaching Writing Award recognizes excellence in the teaching of writing in the Harvard Extension School.

This year's recipient was Sanford Kaye, a Preceptor in the Communications Program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government. He has helped Extension students find their own voices since 1978, when he began teaching courses like Exposition and Experience: Lifelong Writing. In one nomination, a student wrote, "The knowledge I gained from Mr. Kaye's class will help me in every area of writing, while the confidence I developed will help me in every area of life."