Cortell Named Teacher of the Year
Cortell seeks to make each class a rigorous learning experience. “The subject matter may be the intricacies of world politics, but my ultimate aim is to use conceptual ideas developed in the field of international relations to teach students how to think and write analytically and, more generally, to develop critical thinking skills,” he explains.
He finds fulfillment in the classroom because he loves to teach and enjoys interacting with bright, engaged students. Teaching also energizes his work as a scholar. “Students here ask many questions; they are curious,” says Cortell. “And they react very positively when I bring my research into the classroom. Their questions force me to think through my ideas, often in unanticipated ways.”
Students apparently agree. “Professor Cortell has galvanized an interest in politics and infused a passion about higher learning,” wrote Nicholas Wetzler ’05, international affairs major, when he nominated Cortell for the top teacher award. “Students who have taken his courses have met intellectual challenges that have changed the way they think about the world in profound ways.”
Cortell has been at Lewis & Clark since 1999. His current research focuses on international norms, international organizations, states’ political institutions, and globalization.
The top teacher is named each year by members of the Dr. Robert B. Pamplin Jr. Society of Fellows, who solicit nominations from Lewis & Clark’s undergraduate students.
