Annmarie Duggan of theatre arts and Liann E. Tsoukas of history have been named winners of the 2013 Tina and David Bellet Teaching Excellence Awards.

The Bellet teaching awards were established in 1998 and endowed in 2008 with a $1.5 million gift by Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences alumnus David Bellet and his wife, Tina, to recognize outstanding and innovative undergraduate teaching in arts and sciences.

Full-time Pittsburgh campus faculty members who have taught undergraduates in the Dietrich school for at least three years are eligible. Winners each receive a $5,000 award.

Faculty members must receive at least three nominations in order to be invited to submit a dossier for consideration to the awards committee.

Teaching excellence is evaluated based on how the candidate:

• Communicates subject matter to students of varied backgrounds and skill levels;
• Encourages high standards of attainment for all undergraduate students;
• Advises and mentors students and expands intellectual development beyond the classroom;
• Has influenced undergraduates, colleagues or departmental instruction, and
• Has integrated scholarship with teaching.

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Annmarie Duggan

Annmarie Duggan

Duggan, a professional lighting designer, is an associate professor in lighting design and stage management and chair of the Department of Theatre Arts. She joined the Pitt faculty in 2006.

She established the United States Institute for Theatre Technology student chapter at Pitt and continues to serve as its faculty adviser.

Duggan holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Worcester State University and earned an MFA in lighting design at the University of Arizona. She is a member of the United Scenic Artists Union Local 829.

Her experience includes lighting design for hundreds of plays, musicals, operas and dance performances in regional, off-off-Broadway and off-Broadway productions.

Duggan’s teaching experience includes guest lecturing at the University of Central Florida, the University of Maryland-College Park, Florida Gulf Coast University, California State University-Fresno, State University of New York-Albany and Austin Peay.

At Pitt, she teaches a variety of lighting design, stage management, theatre design and theatrical production courses for undergraduates and mentors directed studies for theatre majors and minors.

In her Bellet dossier, Duggan stated that she seeks to help students meet their goals by prioritizing in the classroom critical thinking, time management, creative expression, communication and presentation skills. “When students effectively combine these skills, they are prepared to function successfully in academic and professional theatre settings.”

She said that she brings clear and high expectations to the classroom. “A theatre student should learn early on that, in the area of design and technology, much will be expected of them, and expectations of perfection will always exist. I bring into the classroom my own real-world experience and teach each class from that perspective,” Duggan stated.

She told the University Times that her teaching strength is in ongoing mentoring and taking that mentoring into the classroom.

She said she tells her upper-level students: “Once you are my student, you are my student for life.” She not only helps to connect students with jobs and with the right professionals in the field, but also with one another; “setting them up to help each other,” as she put it.

Duggan said she finds it “incredible” that her teaching in what admittedly is a very specialized niche has been recognized as valuable through a school-wide award.

Duggan, who had been a Bellet nominee two other times, expressed thanks to the students who nominated her, adding that she felt humbled and honored to be chosen. “It’s heartwarming to know you are making a difference and an impact.”

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Liann E. Tsoukas

Liann E. Tsoukas

Tsoukas, who joined the Pitt faculty in 1999, is a lecturer in the Department of History.

She earned a bachelor’s degree at Amherst College. She completed her graduate study at Indiana University, where she earned master’s degrees in history and education and a PhD in history.

In addition to her teaching at Pitt, she has taught history as an instructor at Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Missouri at St. Louis and as a visiting assistant professor at Washington University in St. Louis.

At Pitt, she teaches courses in modern American history, social movements, African-American history and women’s history. Her research is on interracial social movement activism, particularly the anti-lynching movement of the 1930s.

In addition to teaching in the history department, Tsoukas also has taught in the Department of Urban Studies and the Office of Freshman Programs as well as through Pitt’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.

Her teaching has been recognized with nominations for outstanding teacher at the University of Missouri in 1994 and for CMU’s Elliot Dunlap Smith Teaching Award in 2003. She was a 2004 recipient of Pitt’s School of Arts and Sciences Student Choice Award.

Beyond the classroom, Tsoukas was a participant in the 2010 faculty diversity seminar and served as a panelist in 2012 to relate her experiences to participants. She also joined the faculty residence hall mentor program in 2010 and served as a faculty mentor for Holland Hall through 2012.

In her dossier materials, Tsoukas stated that her interest in exploring human relationships led her to study history and now shapes how she teaches history.

“I have learned that the most rewarding and productive attitude while teaching is figuratively ‘to meet them where they live’ or to recognize and embrace the diversity of experience and maturity that enters my classroom and work with those backgrounds to best present course materials and to maximize interest, learning and ultimately intellectual growth.”

Tsoukas stated that she strives to be accessible to students and seeks to learn about their backgrounds and interests, arguing that investing in her students leads them to be more deeply invested in achieving.

“Knowing more about them gives me insight into their ideas and facilitates my ability to push them intellectually,” she stated.

Tsoukas, a first-time Bellet nominee, told the University Times that she welcomed the chance to reflect on her teaching as she prepared the dossier required of nominees.

“I spend all my time teaching,” she said, adding that in addition to teaching six courses per year, she oversees independent studies and internships. As a candidate for the teaching award, submitting the dossier that includes a statement on her teaching goals and approaches “forces the reflection process,” she said. “It forces you to define what you do instead of just doing it.”

She identified her strength in teaching as her emphasis on meeting the needs of students from a variety of backgrounds in light of their different gifts, strengths and interests.

“I’m open and willing to engage anything” in terms of ideas presented, she said, adding that she considers herself a learner in the classroom, presenting teaching and learning as a partnership.

Tsoukas said that teaching African-American history has reinforced that concept. “I tell my students that I have no visceral experience or knowledge, but I’ve learned a lot about it. You bring your visceral experiences and I’ll bring what I can” in understanding.

Reflecting on winning, she said, “I never taught for recognition. I never thought about recognition for it. My rewards come from individual students, the classroom environment and moments that only I know about. I’ve always found teaching very rewarding,” she said.

“I was never comfortable with, nor expected, public awards or reward for my work, but it’s very meaningful” to receive the Bellet award.

“It’s nice that hard work yields rewards.”

—Kimberly K. Barlow