Gaier Named 2011 Recipient of Dr. Joe Burnworth Teaching Award
May 24, 2011
Dr. Scott Gaier
Dr. Scott Gaier is the recipient of the 2011 Dr. Joe Burnworth Teaching Award at Taylor University. The Burnworth Teaching Award recognizes faculty in their first five years of teaching at Taylor who exhibit promise and have made noteworthy contributions to the academic and community life of the institution. Gaier, who joined the Taylor faculty in 2006, serves as coordinator of Taylor’s Academic Enrichment Center.
“Dr. Gaier is known as a caring professor who extends himself toward students’ success in above and beyond ways,” said Dr. Faye Chechowich, Dean of the Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence. “He studies the literature about how students learn and implements best practices he gleans from the research. Students know that Dr. Gaier takes feedback and evaluation seriously. (He) is a resource to other faculty as consultant and presenter in the Center for Teaching and Learning workshops that focus on student learning.”
One student wrote about Gaier, “He helped me believe in myself. He helped me believe I was a good student and that I am capable. I am still at Taylor because of him.” One of Gaier’s nominating colleagues wrote, “Like Dr. Burnworth, (he) is passionate about good teaching in all forms. He makes every effort to give every student the opportunity to succeed, effort that brings him back to campus in the evenings and on weekends to help them.”
Dr. Joe Burnworth served Taylor University’s education department for 31 years. He is remembered for his love of students and his passion for excellent teaching. Burnworth retired from the faculty in 2000; he died after a battle with cancer in October, 2006.
Located in the Zondervan Library, the Academic Enrichment Center (AEC) provides services that foster and support the learning process in a way that gives students with disabilities equal access to education while maintaining academic integrity.
The AEC offers several programs to meet these goals:
- Academic Intensive Module (AIM)
- Athletic academic support
- Support for students with disabilities
