The SAGES Excellence in Writing Instruction Award recognizes outstanding commitment to and success in teaching academic writing to Case Western Reserve University undergraduates in SAGES (Seminar Approach to General Education and Scholarship).

We are pleased to recognize Mary Assad as this year’s winner of the SAGES Excellence in Writing Instruction Award. Dr. Assad is an award-winning teacher whose work with non-native speakers of English has been consistently innovative, thoughtful, and student-centered. She was nominated by both students and colleagues for this award, and her nominators all speak of her collaborative spirit, her curiosity, and her creativity. One colleague writes that Dr. Assad “invites students to propose topics for her classes and develops her syllabi around those topics....Such an approach demonstrates her commitment to respecting students' interests and fostering their agency, which helps her students to be more engaged in classes.”

Her students are frequent participants in the Celebration of Student Writing and Research, which is an opportunity for them to share their projects with the larger campus community. At these events, Dr. Assad’s students often display work that contributes positively to CWRU campus life, for example, presenting the results of their narrative interviews with peers about international students' mental health needs.

Dr. Assad is a tireless mentor and advocate for her students; she is equally dedicated to her colleagues and to the Writing Program. One nominator writes, “Mary always looks to improve her own teaching skills; additionally, she is willing to share insights with colleagues on how they can improve in their own writing instruction.” The variety and talent of instructors nominated for this award is always impressive; this year, we are very pleased to recognize Dr. Assad for her creativity, her dedication, and her advocacy on behalf of non-native speakers of English.

This year’s nominations were all exceptionally strong, and so we are pleased to award Honorable Mention for the SAGES Excellence in Writing Instruction Award to Ronald Oldfield. Dr. Oldfield is an exceptional scientist and teacher, as his nominators readily attest. One undergraduate student admits, “I always saw anatomy as a daunting class...but Dr. Oldfield made it intriguing through his own passion for the topic.” This sentiment - a recognition of the generosity of Dr. Olfield’s pedagogy - is echoed by other nominators as well. They describe activities and experiences that introduce “hard science” without intimidation, and encourage deeper investigation and learning through writing activities and assignments.

Dr. Oldfield goes to great lengths to provide his students with ways to engage with the world. In the words of one nominator, he conducts “deeply insightful discussions on real-world animal ethics issues. The discussions never remain ‘surface level.’ Dr. Oldfield always guides us towards brainstorming solutions to making real changes in the world.” Others comment that Dr. Oldfield treats his students “like colleagues” and shares his own writing and research practices as models for discussion and critique.

Dr. Oldfield teaches writing and research as interactive processes, encouraging students to seek out additional resources to verify facts or revise their writing. He models academic inquiry by displaying “fierce honesty in discussions,” which encourages his students “to craft well-thought-out arguments backed with evidence.” For his attention to student writing and thinking, we are pleased to honor Dr. Oldfield.

Previous Winners of the SAGES Excellence in Writing Instruction Award

2020 – Gabrielle Parkin

2019 – Eric Chilton & Kristine Kelly

2018 – Cara Byrne

2017 – James Newlin

2016 – Hee-Seung Kang

2015 – Amy Absher

2014 – Georgia Cowart

2013 – Rachel Kapelle

2012 – Barbara Burgess-Van Aken & Paul Jaussen

2011 – Mark Pedretti & Annie Pecastaings

2010 – Susan Dominguez