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Vol. 3, No. 1 - August 25, 2003
| Ciancio Prize-Winner Greg Pfitzer to Give Opening Convocation Address Greg Pfitzer, chair of Skidmore’s American Studies Department, is this year’s winner of the Ralph A. Ciancio Award for Excellence in Teaching. He’s thrilled, he says, both for the recognition and because he’s honored to be in the company of previous winners John Anzalone (French) and Carolyn Anderson (theater) as well as Ciancio himself -- “who was by all accounts one of the best teachers on the planet.” “Teaching is in my blood,” Pfitzer asserts. “I never imagined any other profession for myself, and I have never regretted -- even for a day -- my decision to become an educator.” Pfitzer came to Skidmore in 1989 and teaches, among other courses, “Introduction to American Cultures,” “Hudson River Culture,” “The Machine in the Garden,” and “The 1960s.” His primary interest is in the history of historical writing, a topic addressed in his most recent book, Picturing the Past: Illustrated Histories and the Role of Visual Literacy in the American Imagination, 1840–1900 (Smithsonian Institution Press, 2002). He is currently at work on a book-length study of the genre of “popular history.” “His scholarship and his love of research and writing have a significant impact on his teaching,” notes American studies colleague Mary Lynn. “He stretches his students, and they rise to the challenge…he exemplifies the teacher-scholar model.” As winner of the Ciancio Award, Pfitzer will
deliver the Opening Convocation address, incorporating themes related
to Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein, the summer
reading for the incoming class of 2007. He plans to “emphasize
the importance of approaching college as if one were entering the
world anew, like Frankenstein’s monster.” He’s participated in Skidmore’s Liberal Studies, UWW and MALS programs, and has taught numerous mini-college and workshop courses. Teaching contemporary politics, Pfitzer says, is a particular challenge “not only because the material is too fresh to have allowed for much reflection, but because people can be very partisan about their loyalties to specific parties or politicians. Students often want to know my politics, and, although I am happy to speak about that, I ask them to formulate their own opinions based on their own reflection and study.” Says Pfitzer, “I think the best teachers are those who can convey their love and passion for learning, using the skills and techniques most suited to their personalities. Good teaching,” he adds, “begins with respect. I try to respect students as people anxious to learn rather than as petitioners in pursuit of a grade…and I try to remember that some students bloom late in their academic careers. I monitor the slow-starters over their entire Skidmore experience and remind them at graduation of how many skills they’ve developed, even if their names do not appear on the honor rolls.” And even after they graduate, Pfitzer tries to stay in touch with his students, encouraging them to “think of learning as a lifetime pursuit and imagine me as their lifelong collaborator.” Opening Convocation will begin at 4:30
p.m. Friday, Sept. 5, at South Park. At the event, President Philip
A. Glotzbach will address the all-College community for the first
time. Special guests at convocation will be the Class of 2007. Totaling
608 on-campus students (with an additional 35 attending their first
semester of classes in London), the class is 58 percent women and
42 percent men, representing 32 states and nine countries. The class
has a median SAT score of 1250.
Skidmore
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