/ Newsroom/ Professor Karen Gross Named Teacher of the Year

Professor Karen Gross Named Teacher of the Year

Associate Professor of English Karen Gross is the 2019 Teacher of the Year

April 19, 2019

Credit: Copyright, Steve Hambuchen

Lewis & Clark’s Pamplin Society of Fellows has named Associate Professor of English Karen Gross the 2019 Teacher of the Year. Gross, who specializes in medieval literature, has been at Lewis & Clark since 2005. She holds a master’s degree from Cambridge University and PhD from Stanford University.

Created in 1994, the Teacher of the Year award honors faculty members who go above and beyond to enhance students’ learning experience both within and beyond the classroom. Winners are selected annually by a committee of Pamplin Society fellows from nominations the society collects from the student body.

Gross, a prolific scholar and author, has also contributed to Lewis & Clark and the lives of her students as the leader of two overseas study programs, and as fellowships advisor for the college, providing guidance and support to students seeking information about national grants and awards. Katie Kowal BA ’17, recently named a Rhodes Scholar, thanked Gross personally for her counsel. In 2008, Gross was recognized with the Graves Award for humanities teaching excellence.

“There’s enjoying a subject, and there’s allowing the warmth of it to bleed into and define the practice of teaching,” said Tian-Ai Aldridge BA ’19, who presented the Teacher of the Year award. “I’m so inspired by all the work we do together and all the journeying we do together, in our studies and in our art,” said Gross. “This means so much.”

English

Pamplin Society of Fellows

Experiential Learning

Health + Humanities Internships = Impact

The Center for Community and Global Health offers funding for health and humanities internships with Portland-area partners. Whether over the summer or during the school year, L&C students benefit from paid internships that turn career exploration into action.

Dialogue Across Difference

A Forum for Dialogue and Discussion on Palestine and Israel

The Middle East and North African Studies program offered a new course this fall to facilitate discussion and collective learning around the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Climate Justice

Uncovering the Hidden Toll of Natural Disasters

Rachel Young BA ’11 recently published groundbreaking research in the journal Nature on the long-term health impact of tropical cyclones. The article is part of her growing scholarship on the quantifiable social effects of climate change and natural hazards.

Photo Essay

Shaping the Future of Oregon’s Forests

L&C environmental studies students gained some real-world experience last month when they visited Tillamook Forest Center to attend the center’s annual Rain Festival, a celebration of the Tillamook Forest and its waterways. They spent the afternoon gathering input from rural community members on what they value most about Oregon’s forests.