He is not the first from DePauw to receive this honor, but there is a great chance that he is not the last.
Dan Gurnon, professor of chemistry and biochemistry and director of the Science Research Fellows Program, has been named the 2015 Indiana Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE).
Gurnon has been a professor at DePauw since 2005. His research focuses on the little things in the world – the really, really little things.
“All of biochemistry is focused on how things work at the smallest level in living things,” said Gurnon.
Gurnon began with graduate work, as well as work here, regarding protein characterization, but he slowly shifted into an interest in how the tiny molecules that make up the universe actually look.
“One of the most fascinating things about biochemistry to me is that you’re studying a world that’s so small that color makes no sense at that level, and that shape is kind of fuzzy,” said Gurnon. “When it comes down to it, we’re trying to visualize things that are impossible to see.”
To facilitate the discrepancy, Gurnon has involved himself with animation projects to create visualizations of scientific data. In fact, a number of statues found in Julian are results of those projects.
As if he is not busy enough, Gurnon also works with a nonprofit named the Rare Genomics Institute, wherein he and students volunteer in order to try to find the underlying causes of patient’s symptoms with undiagnosed rare genetic disorders.
Clearly, Gurnon has a full schedule. And when it comes to his favorite part about his work in the classroom and in the lab, boredom never strikes.
“It doesn’t get repetitive, it doesn’t get old. That’s probably my favorite thing about this kind of a job,” said Gurnon, “that I have the freedom to just research what I am excited about. I think that is part of what makes me effective in the classroom is that I’m not bored.”
Students agree.
“He makes me feel like I can ask for help,” said first-year chemistry student Emily Troyer. “There are always groups of students he’s sitting with in his room that he’s helping.”
When it comes to receiving the title of “Indiana Professor of the Year,” Gurnon thought it best to keep it under wraps until the formal announcement, despite his excitement.
With the letter of honor in his hand, he immediately ran over to show the Dean of Faculty.
“But that was in October,” explained Gurnon, “so I just did not tell anybody until they announced it in November.”
The Carnegie Foundation and CASE’s Professors of the Year program is the only national program to recognize excellence in undergraduate teaching. Any undergraduate professor is eligible for the award; however, the primary criteria for nominations are as follows: “impact on and involvement with undergraduate students, a scholarly approach to teaching and learning, contributions to undergraduate education in the institution, community and profession, and support from colleagues and former undergraduate students.”
Gurnon easily reached all of those standards.
Gurnon was formally recognized as the Indiana Professor of the Year on November 19th at a lunch in the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, D.C. His father who has been a strong influence in his life accompanied him.
“All dads have lots of sayings, right, that they plug into your mind,” said Gurnon, “so he’s always in my head.”
Both national and state winners of the award were announced, and the national winners gave speeches, all with a common theme.
“Everyone was echoing the feeling that I think everyone in the room felt, that we kind of feel like we don’t really deserve this because it’s kind of ridiculous to say that there is a “professor of the year,’” said Gurnon.
People from the foundation addressed this as well, though, to clear the air. Gurnon recalled that the program’s goal was not to simply call a number of professors out; it was to recognize good teaching and honor those who do their best to be good teachers, a number of which, Gurnon believes, can be found here at DePauw.
“It’s nice to get that kind of recognition for DePauw because I think this is a place where a lot of my colleagues are excellent teachers and that this kind of place fosters great teaching.”
DePauw's administrators also recognize that Gurnon is just one example of the excellence in education at this university.
"Dan Gurnon is part of a long tradition of DePauw faculty members who inspire their students in the classroom and in the laboratory," said Anne Harris, vice president for academic affairs, in a November 19 press release on Gurnon's honor.
Recalling past winners from DePauw such as Professors Michele Villinski, Wayne Glausser, and Dave Berque, Gurnon supports his biggest takeaway statement:
“It just shows that DePauw is a place where great teaching happens and that recognizing one person as the Professor of the Year in Indiana says a lot about DePauw as a whole,” said Gurnon.