Young Teacher Award
Julie McQuinn, 2007
"Julie McQuinn, you came to Lawrence in 2003, after finishing your PhD in musicology at Northwestern University. You have brought with you a great love for music, a sense of excitement for teaching, and a seemingly limitless amount of energy. Everyone who takes your classes becomes tremendously enthusiastic about the study of music. Many of your students say that before meeting you, they could not imagine loving the critical analysis of music. After experiencing your teaching, they become enthralled and cannot remember a time when they didn’t love the critical analysis of music.
At Lawrence you have taught courses on the history of music, on Opera, and on music and gender. One of your courses has been on Claude Debussy, whose work was also the subject of a highly acclaimed essay written by you. You also have a great interest in film studies, and have taught courses on the introduction to film studies and Borrowed Music in the Movies. All of your courses are so popular that the waiting lists for them have strained the capacity of the registrar’s computer.
When you teach, your enthusiasm makes the material leap off the pages of books and scores and into the hearts and minds of your students. In fact, many of the students comment that you get so excited that you start to leap up and down, and they love it. Your ability to get everyone engaged, even when your classes meet at 8:30 in the morning, is legendary. Many students say that you are the best and most inspiring teacher they have had at Lawrence. Faculty colleagues praise your teaching with words such as 'excellent,' 'outstanding,' and 'terrific.'
Your clear success in creating excitement about learning is an extremely important accomplishment. Lawrence values the ability of its faculty to transform students into lifelong learners, who are deeply engaged with the very best human achievements that enrich our lives. You have enriched the lives of many Lawrence students, and given them the power to grow in their love for music of all kinds and all eras.
In honor of your teaching accomplishments, I am pleased to recognize you today with the 2007 Award for Excellence in Teaching by a Young Faculty Member at Lawrence."
