University Award for Excellence in Teaching
Carol Lawton, 2004
"Carol Lawton, you won the Young Teacher Award in 1982 when you were, well, younger, and the 1998 Freshman Studies Teaching Award as well, in each case, as in the present one, because of teaching that your colleagues describe as 'solid,' 'demanding,' 'tough-minded,' and 'characterized by an unremitting emphasis on precision and consistently high standards.' Your art history seminar based on the ancient coins in the Ottilia Buerger collection resulted in the preparation of the Buerger exhibition catalogue with fourteen student co-authors--students, it is important to note, with majors not only in art history, but also in classics, history, anthropology, music and biology. Hailed by your colleagues as one of the most successful instances of professor-student scholarly collaboration at Lawrence, this publication on portraiture and propaganda was realized because of your willingness to develop your expertise in numismatics and to share both the expertise and your enthusiasm for the subject with your students.
Art history majors credit you with igniting their passion for the subject, and non-majors relish the ways in which your courses broaden their educational horizons. Your love of stone and how beautiful it can become in the hands of a Greek sculptor led you to carve out a niche for yourself in ancient art history. Your research with and your teaching about document reliefs and Greek and Roman votive reliefs from the Athenian Agora emphasize not only the beauty of the objects themselves, but what the objects tell us about the culture, religion, and politics of their period.
If the third time is a charm, I trust you will find charming this third occasion to recognize your teaching prowess. Carol, it is a pleasure to recognize you with the 2004 Excellence in Teaching Award."