Nathan A. Berger, M.D., Hanna-Payne Professor of Experimental Medicine and director of Case Western Reserve University's Center for Science, Health and Society, is the 2007 recipient of the Frank and Dorothy Humel Hovorka Prize.

"The Frank and Dorothy Humel Hovorka Prize is awarded each year to recognize a faculty member whose exceptional achievements in teaching, research, and scholarly service have benefited the community, the nation, and the world. You have been recommended to receive this year's Hovorka Prize, and I agree that you are an excellent choice," Interim President Gregory L. Eastwood, M.D. wrote in a letter to Berger.

Daniel Akerib likes to tell stories and anecdotes about his experiences as a physics student and professor. It is just one way that the professor and chair of the department of physics—and a recipient of the 2007 J. Bruce Jackson, M.D., Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Mentoring—mentors his students.

"I think it helps them to see that people, who have gone before them, faced the same kinds of challenges they do. How those people dealt with those challenges, can be helpful for today's students," says Akerib.

"In my own personal experience, there are few professors I could credit with giving more help and guidance," said Akerib's anonymous nominator.

"Professor Akerib is well known to physics students due to his sincere willingness to go beyond the role of instructor to help his students: he makes an effort to know each student personally, and is by far the most popular professor to ask for a letter of recommendation," added the nominator.

South Asia Religion expert will receive the award at undergraduate commencement May 20

Upon hearing he had been named a recipient of the 2007 Carl F. Wittke Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, Deepak Sarma first shared the exciting news at home with his wife. Then he immediately picked up the phone and called his father.

"I learned a lot about teaching from my father, who was also a college professor," said Sarma, an assistant professor of religious studies at Case Western Reserve University. "I learned from watching him and listening in as he taught classes of nearly 800 students and watched how he interacted with them and motivated them. I use a lot of his ideas and methods in my teaching."

Sarma has blended those ideas and methods with his own style and personal experiences to create an engaging learning environment in his classes, which focus on south Asian religions like Hinduism.

Weatherhead faculty member will receive the award at undergraduate commencement May 20

Tough. That is the one word used to describe the classes of accounting professor David Pearson, a winner of the Carl F. Wittke Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching. It is a one-word description used not only by his students, but also by the man himself.

"As a teacher, I guess I'm somewhat notorious for being tough, but that's one of my goals," Pearson said. "I want the students to work hard, participate in class and be challenged in order to learn and succeed."

It's being able to accept those challenges and succeed in the classroom that the professor for the practice of accountancy's students say helps them prepare for their careers following graduation.

Online registration for commencement begins at 10 a.m. on March 1

Richard Lederer, author of more than 30 books about language and humor—including the best-selling Anguished English series—will deliver the keynote address at Case Western Reserve University's commencement ceremony on May 20 at the Veale Convocation Center, 2128 Adelbert Road.

Online registration for commencement begins at 10 a.m. on March 1 at http://www.case.edu/commencement.

A popular author, speaker and journalist, Lederer specializes in grammar and the English language. His books include Crazy English and Get Thee to a Punnery. On the back cover of Lederer's recent book Word Wizard: Super Bloopers, Rich Reflections, and Other Acts of Word Magic, late novelist Sidney Sheldon wrote: "Richard Lederer is the true King of Language Comedy. His Anguished English books are the funniest books I have ever read."