Congratulations to our own Professor Michael Thornton, who has received Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching Award, 2018!
“Michael Thornton continuously showcases the newest scholarship on current social issues while his own work on multi-ethnic identity has been in the vanguard of ethnic studies/inter-group scholarship. He has continuously received outstanding evaluations from his students, even among those who found his courses exceptionally demanding. His students repeatedly commented on how he challenged them to rethink their assumptions, how his courses changed their lives, and how knowledgeable he is. They also noted that despite the often-contentious subject matter, he created both a safe environment and an intellectually rigorous classroom climate where diverse ideas and perspectives could be openly and honestly debated. This is a remarkable skill, perhaps never more so than in our current fractious political climate. ”