Young Teacher Award
Michael T. Orr, 1992
"Michael Orr, you are a teacher and scholar of exceptional breadth, one who ranges comfortably from medieval manuscripts to Picasso, from the classroom to the gallery, from the college to the larger community. Your scholarship on medieval manuscript illumination has earned you national and international recognition. And your athletic triumphs have showed us that, like the Courtier of that Italian Renaissance you know so well, you truly believe in 'joining learning with comely exercises.'
To all your work you bring high standards, creativity, energy, and good humor. You are meticulous in demanding firsthand appreciation of works of art, you are well-grounded in the processes by which they are made, and you are attentive to the social and intellectual contexts from which they come. Students call you 'great' and 'fabulous,' praising you for your clarity, your enthusiasm, your dedication to your field, your helpfulness to individuals, and your wit and humor. No one else, they say, could command such rapt attention at 8:30 in the morning in a dark room.
Michael--teacher and triathlete, scholar and sculler, medievalist so fast that you can also justifiably claim the title Renaissance man--we are delighted to honor you today with this award as an outstanding young teacher of the Lawrence faculty."