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Date: June 1, 1999
Graduate Students Honored for Excellence in Teaching
Princeton, N.J. -- The 1999 Association of Princeton Graduate Alumni awards for excellence in graduate student teaching were presented to Erik Irving Gray of the Department of English, Daniel Howard Magilow of the Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures, Lisa Anne Taneyhill of the Department of Molecular Biology, and Stephen Wu of the Department of Economics.
Erik Irving Gray received his bachelor's degree at Cambridge University, England. He spent a year at Ecole Normale Superieure studying classics before joining the Princeton English Department as a graduate student in 1995. His dissertation adviser, Esther Schor, writes that Gray "lectures with a kind of ease and authority one rarely sees in novices. ... At this point, he is no longer a novice; speaking to him about teaching, one feels one is talking to a peer."
Daniel Howard Magilow came to Princeton in 1996 from Columbia University where he majored in comparative literature. Now a graduate student in the Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures, Magilow received the prestigious DAAD (Deutscher Adademischer Austausch Dienst) grant which funds 10 months of study in Germany. A colleague wrote: "Dan stood out this year -- all year -- as one of the best (assistants in instruction) I've ever seen at Princeton, not only for his sheer energy, but for his judicious application of new technology, his concern for individual students, and his commitment to improving our overall program."
Lisa Anne Taneyhill, came to Princeton in 1995 from Western Maryland College where she received her bachelor's degree in biochemistry. She is now a graduate student in the Department of Molecular Biology. Taneyhill was an assistant in instruction for the course Cell and Developmental Biology -- an intensive, required course for all molecular biology undergraduate majors. Students reported that Taneyhill was "wonderful, available for questions, did a wonderful job at damage control, (was) very helpful in clarifying class material, and made 110% effort to help us with any problems."
Stephen Wu came to Princeton from Brown University where he received his undergraduate degree in applied mathematics and economics. He joined the Department of Economics as a graduate student in 1995. Wu precepted in three undergraduate courses over the past two years and taught in the Woodrow Wilson School's summer program. Of Wu's dedication, Professor of Economics Harvey Rosen notes: "During the course of the semester, Wu was in an accident while playing basketball. Two of his front teeth were knocked out. Directly after a visit to an oral surgeon, Wu came onto campus to run a review session that he had previously scheduled. If I had known about this, I think I would have ordered him to cancel the review session, take some painkillers, and go to bed."