Art and graphic design students have a unique opportunity this week to take in their instructors' creative genius by visiting the faculty art exhibit in the Braithwaite Fine Arts Gallery. This faculty-created art demonstrates the innovation and method presented in class in a tangible way.
Similar presentations of talent by educators are available through faculty dance concerts and musical recitals during the year.
Students benefit further from this personalized student-teacher relationship when faculty and staff incorporate their specific expertise into a class.
The opportunity to learn from the experiences of faculty and staff is not limited to creative studies, however. The Journal encourages students to take advantage of their educators' knowledge and backgrounds.
Take a moment to visit professors during their office hours simply to see what is hanging on the walls. Ask for help on a project or paper - the insights faculty and staff provide can lead students to valuable information they might not have otherwise considered. If considering taking on undergraduate research, students can seek counsel from faculty in their respective fields. Most professors are delightfully forthcoming when asked to discuss their fortes.
Students seek expertise within their chosen major. Ideally, they will apply this knowledge in a career at some point after earning an undergraduate degree. Where better to seek this education than from a professor who has applied what is being taught in the classroom?
What better source can there be on Middle Eastern relations that a professor who has traveled in the Middle East? Who better to lecture on organic chemistry than someone who has spent hours in a laboratory?
The Journal also encourages faculty and staff to continue incorporate their specific expertise into the classroom.
The opinions expressed above are the collective perspective of the University Journal editorial board. The editorial board meets every Monday at 5 p.m. and Thursday at noon in room 176C of the Sharwan Smith Center. Readers are also welcome to comment online at suujournal.com/messageboard.
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