Pittsburgh Magazine - September 2014 - Pittsburgh, PA: You know who they are: the rock stars of campus, the ones whose classes you’d sell your eye teeth — and maybe your iPad — to take. They are the professors who haunt your memory at your first job after graduation, and your fifth. When you return to your alma mater, you stop by their office to check in. Chances are, they remember you. Whether they’re humanizing robots or illuminating human history, bringing life to the literature of Thomas Jefferson or the laws of thermal physics, some of the finest minds working in higher education today can be found in Pittsburgh. Regardless of academic discipline, these professors earn recognition for their innovation, creativity and dedication. And they share a common trait: an uncanny knack for demanding — and eliciting — the very best from their students. Pittsburgh’s growing reputation as a city predicated on its colleges and universities is rooted in the life’s work of people like these.
11 comments:
Even as a first year student in my second week of classes, I am already very aware of the greatest CMU's faculty and staff hold. I am finding I am being asked questions and tasks of myself I never believe were possible. These challenges are opening up a whole new perspective for me as an actor, a student, and as a person living in this world.
I like what the article calls the professors, "rock stars". As a new student to the university, some of the professors are amazing, with the things they've worked on or the students they've taught. I also think this article is important because it demonstrates the growing education scene in Pittsburgh. The city has a become a hub for education across the United States with places such as UPMC and the research happening here at Carnegie Mellon. The area of higher education in Pittsburgh also elevates Pittsburgh's status as a major city and attracting companies that are leading the future such as Google and Dropbox and leading medical research.
I love that CMU has a teacher on the list. Reading through the bios on the other teachers, I can see that many of my teachers could fit into this category already. Even just in my first two weeks, I have found CMU to be filled with many teachers that are really going to challenge me and make me grow. I think this article is really important because it highlights that pretty much every college in Pittsburgh has one or more amazing professors, and if they have one amazing, they are going to have many more great ones that will challenge their students just as much. It brings a credibility to all the colleges in this city.
Having already been at CMU for over a year, I am not surprised by the fact that there are several notable teaching professors on this list, especially Anne Mundell. Even though I have only had class with Anne for the past two weeks of school, it is already so incredibly apparent how and why she made it onto that list of Pittsburgh's best. She knows how to communicate with her students and other faculty in a way that is seamless and easy to understand, and I can only imagine what else I'm going get out of her teaching in the coming years. Everyday I'm reminded about how lucky I am to attend a school such as this, and be surrounded by brilliant peers and professors that help push me to my best.
When I was first thinking about coming to Carnegie Mellon, here in Pittsburgh, one of my greatest fears was that I'd be coming to a city that was past its time and primarily dead following the fall of its booming steel industry. My worries subsided a bit when someone told me that Pittsburgh was reinventing itself as a higher education center, where great minds collectively met. I bought into that notion and believe it which is one of the main reasons that I'm even here, but its nice to see an article like this confirm my idea and give it credibility. I know CMU has great professors all around and I'm excited for my next few years here, but even outside of Carnegie Mellon its invigorating to see the great minds at work at other universities all around the city. This once again further qualifies Pittsburgh's growing education scene, and only makes me feel more certain in my choice of a university and city in which to pursue my passions. From what I've gathered through reading the article it seems to me that what really makes an exceptional professor is their ability to never stop learning, put themselves out there, and to explore new things, whether its within their discipline or not, going beyond the basics is what makes an educator great. I'm so glad I'm fortunate enough to go to CMU and study at Purnell where the work of phenomenal faculty like Anne Mundell bring out the most in all of us.
When I started at CMU in the Fall of 2013, I walked into Pittsburgh blindly. What I rapidly realized was just how close Pittsburgh holds education to its heart. I'm glad this article recognizes specific professors from different, distinct universities in the area, but it's also important to emphasize the collaborative atmosphere that is present among all of the Pittsburgh universities. Many people have - after I mention I attend CMU - said that they went to Pitt, but attended some classes at CMU and really liked the professors they met. One of the great benefits of going to college in Pittsburgh is the access to not only the resources of your own school, but the resources and programs at universities throughout the area.
The first person who I talked to in the school of drama was Anne Mundell. I remember her enthusiasm and unwavering interest in my work was one of the main reasons I knew I was making the right decision. Since then I have heard of her amazing personality and counseling with students. This year I am so excited that she is taking a part in Hawk V. Handsaw. Having her in the classroom with Tina and Dick adds something completely different to the experience. She is always so genuinely interested in what we have to say and she seems to love to interact with us. I am incredibly excited to work with her in the future and I hope to partake in growing theatre.
Articles like this make me so proud of both CMU and Pittsburgh as hold. It doesn't surprise me that we have multiple professors on the list or that there are so many in Pittsburgh. I really hope I have the opportunity to work with some of the professors on this list. I love how they describe working with students, even in the article you can see how the excitement and passion is just radiating off of them. I've only spoken to Anne once, right before my interview/portfolio review and I could definitely tell how much she loved what does, even if she was tired at that point.
I read this article a few days ago, and it gave me a lot to think about. Particularly what makes a good professor, and how each professor mentioned in this article brings their own style to the profession. Granted, I haven't been taught by or worked with any but Anne, but you can tell just by reading the article that each has infused their work with a bit of individuality. I extended this thought to considering our own professions, and how there can be so many right ways to do things in the theatre industry. But then, what makes a way wrong? What makes us someone people don't like to work with, and what makes a professor someone people don't like to be taught by? There is not a single answer to that questions, but I do believe that people like to have their ideas valued. What stood out in my mind about colleagues and teaches I have enjoyed learning from is that they valued the notion that our ideas could be of equal value.
So proud that a CMU professor made it on the list from the school of drama. Let alone Anne! I think that professors do so much for students and that it's important for them to be recognized outside of the classroom as well as inside. Something that I think is really important to academia is professors doing outside work and keep current with the industry. This way professors can bring it back to the students and their teaching material is current and relevant. This is something that I think Anne does really well and her students are fortunate to have her!
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