Three lecturers have been honored for outstanding contributions to instruction as this year’s recipients of the Collegiate Lecturer Program. The appointments, approved by Provost Phil Hanlon and President Mary Sue Coleman, are titles the three will retain throughout their careers at the university.

This is the inaugural year of the Collegiate Lecturer Program. U-M and the Lecturers’ Employee Organization created the program during collective bargaining negotiations in 2010. For the first two years, Collegiate Lecturers will receive an annual lump-sum payment of $2,000 to support teaching and professional development.

This year’s recipients are Karen Rhea, Susan Montgomery and Marcus Ammerlaan. The three lecturers will be honored today (March 5) at a reception.

Rhea, a lecturer IV in mathematics in LSA, supervises the introductory mathematics program, which is widely viewed as one of the most successful such programs in the country. She provides guidance and support for those teaching in the program through intensive initial training and individual guidance, and also has had a national impact on the teaching of calculus. The Mathematical Association of America recently recognized Rhea’s success as a teacher and curriculum developer. Her students praise the active learning model she has developed, and many of the instructors she has trained have gone on to teach math in other colleges and universities.

Montgomery, a lecturer IV in chemical engineering, has had a wide influence on the undergraduate curriculum in her department. She is the Department of Chemical Engineering undergraduate program adviser and focuses on the use of computer technology and multimedia to educate undergraduates. The Multimedia Education Lab, which Montgomery heads, has created computer-based modules, including the Visual Encyclopedia of Chemical Engineering Equipment, and Material and Energy Balances Multimedia Modules. For the last 13 years, Montgomery has presented a teaching engineering course for graduate students pursuing academic careers. Her implementation of active learning strategies also has been used as a model by CRLT as part of its training materials.

As an adviser, Montgomery devotes an extraordinary amount of time to meeting with and seeking out students who may have performance problems. She also works effectively to involve alumni of the department with its current curriculum. In addition, she has been deeply involved with mentoring minority students, especially those who are Spanish-speaking.

Ammerlaan, a lecturer IV in LSA, teaches in both the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and the Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology. He serves as a bridge between the departments and played a key role in a reorganization of introductory biology courses in 2007. Ammerlaan designed and teaches the introductory biology laboratory course required of all concentrations in biological science, as well as the laboratory sections in the 200-level interdisciplinary microbiology course. He supervises and mentors other lecturers, undergraduate teaching assistants and new assistant professors. He also is the faculty adviser to the undergraduate Michigan Synthetic Biology Team, which competes internationally.

Each year the university will award up to three Collegiate Lecturer titles to those who demonstrate a sustained record of excellence in teaching and learning and/or in service or other contribution to the university. In that regard, applicants are evaluated using one or more of the following criteria:

• A strong commitment to students and teaching and learning as demonstrated by undertaking activities to advance the quality and practice of teaching and learning at a variety of levels in the classroom, studio and/or lab.

• Using effective teaching strategies and methods to assess student learning.

• A demonstrable commitment to advising and mentoring students, if applicable.

• A demonstrable impact on students’ intellectual and/or artistic development.

• Other evidence of exceptional service and/or other contribution to the university.