The John S. Diekhoff Award
Sponsored by the Graduate
Student Senate & the School of Graduate Studies
The Diekhoff Award is presented annually to two full-time faculty members that have made exemplary contributions to the education of graduate students at Case Western Reserve through work in the classroom and as an advisor.
Part of the prestige of this award is that the process by which winners are selected is run entirely by graduate students.
The award consists of a plaque and honorarium that will be presented at the Graduate School Diploma Ceremony.
The Diekhoff Award Committee wants to recognize past recipients as well as all professors that were nominated.
This is a great honor and it speaks to how truly exceptional these faculty are as mentors, instructors, and advisors.
Choosing a winner was a long and difficult process for the committee but also incredibly enjoyable as we get to see these faculty members through the eyes of the graduate students they have influenced.
The Graduate Student Senate and the School of Graduate Studies are honored to have presented the John S. Diekhoff Award for Distinguished Graduate Student Teaching and Mentorship to: past winners
2008 Diekhoff Committee
Saad Alkazemi (committee chair)
Katherine Crispin, Marjorie Montanez, Matthew Schiefer, Michael Swickrath, and Rachael Volokhov
2008 Diekhoff Award Winners:
Social Sciences: Heath Demaree, Department of Psychology
Humanities: Athena Vrettos, Department of English
2008 Diekhoff Award Finalists:
Eileen Anderson-Fye, Antropology Department
Kurt Koenigsberger, Department of English
Jonathan Sadowsky, Department of History
2008 Diekhoff Award Nominees:
Susan Hinze, Department of Sociology
Charlotte Ikels, Anthropology Department
Jessica Kelley-Moore, Department of Sociology
Ron Wilson, Department of Theater and Dance
Diekhoff Award Frequently Asked Questions
Nomination process
Q: I would like to nominate a professor for this award; is there a more extensive form to fill out?
A: There is no form to fill out. Please submit the professor's name with a paragraph stating why you want to nominate him/her. This paragraph will be used to assess which nominees will proceed to the next round.
Q: Who can make a nomination?
A: Everyone can make a nomination: a student, a professor, a student association.
Q: Can I nominate more than one professor?
Sure, if you think they are both equally outstanding.
Q: Who is eligible?
A: To be eligible, the professor must have a primary appointment in the departments listed for that year and must have taught a graduate course in the last 3 years.
Letters of Reference
Q: Do the student references need to be Ph.D. students?
A: This award is for graduate student teaching and it refers to professors that teach/mentor students in the MS/PhD programs that respond to the School of Graduate Studies. The Committee would prefer that the students that give you letters of reference are students that are under the direction of the School of Graduate Studies. However, you can always submit more than two potential references. Sometimes it is hard to get a hold of graduate students that have graduated and if the Committee is unable to get a hold of your first two references, then we would proceed down your list so that each nominee has 2 letters of reference from students.
Q: Can I provide you with more than two potential student reference names?
A: Sure. The Committee will only need 2 letters of reference for each nominee but sometimes it is hard to contact one student and it will be beneficial to have the professor provide alternative references.
Q: Is it appropriate to find out my to-be-named student reference's willingness before submitting their names?
A: Yes. You can tell them that you will be sending their names to me so that I can contact them. I will ask them to answer several questions about you as a mentor/advisor/professor and they will have about 1-2 weeks to answer them and send the form back to me.
Diekhoff Award Process
Q: How do you choose a winner for the Diekhoff Award?
A: Once the nominations are received, all eligible nominees will be asked to submit the names of at least two graduate students and recent graduate course evaluations. The Diekhoff Committee will ask two graduate students for a letter of reference in behalf of the professor. The letter of nomination, the 2 letters of reference and any graduate course evaluations we get will then be evaluated by the Diekhoff Committee, composed of at least 6 graduate students. From this evaluation we will determine the strongest 4 candidates from each cost center. These 8 professors (4 from each cost center) will be interviewed by at least 2 members of the committee for about 30 mins. After completing all short interviews, the Committee will meet again and determine who the 2 strongest candidates from each cost center are. These 4 candidates (2 from each cost center) will be interviewed by all the committee during a long interview (for about 1 hr). Based on all the information gathered, the Committee will finally award one professor from each cost center. The award will be given during Commencement.
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