Fall 2001

Jahan Ramazani, NEH Distinguished Teaching Professor

In 1994 the Teaching Resource Center won a Special Challenge Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. This grant, together with gifts secured by the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, enabled the creation of three rotating U.Va. Distinguished Teaching Professorships (DTPs). Each endowed chair, awarded to associate or full professors for a three-year period, recognizes excellent undergraduate teaching in the humanities. Jahan Ramazani is the 2001-2004 Richard A. and Sarah Page Mayo Distinguished Teaching Professor of English.

Jahan Ramazani's vision of intellectual community aims toward engaging undergraduates fully in the academic life of the University. He envisions courses that stimulate a hunger for intellectual give-and-take so profound that it permeates students' rooms, mealtimes, social interactions, conversations on the Lawn, and even discussions with their parents. Ramazani's lofty goal: helping undergraduates make dedication to the life of the mind a lifelong value.

Ramazani plans to examine key issues related to fostering intellectual community: How can we create classes that encourage introspection, intense engagement, passionate debate, and pleasure in encountering previously unfamiliar bodies of knowledge? He will explore how best to utilize three important strategies: debate, electronic communication, and cooperative learning. In addition to conducting classroom experimentation and publishing his own research on these topics, he will work with the Teaching Resource Center to convene interdisciplinary faculty workshops, panels, and other interactions to examine how each strategy can be used to deepen scholarly exchange. By enhancing the debate about best teaching practices, Ramazani hopes to cultivate intellectual community among colleagues as well as undergraduates.

Those interested in more information about the Chair's duties can contact the TRC Director, Marva Barnett. Questions about the nomination and selection process should be directed to Karen Ryan, Associate Dean for Personnel and Planning, Arts and Sciences, 924-3437.