College of Arts & Sciences Announce Stamey Teaching and Advising Awards
The College of Arts & Sciences has selected the 2016 Stamey Awards for Undergraduate Teaching and Advising. William L. Stamey is a mathematician and served as dean of the College of Arts & Sciences for seventeen years from 1970-1987. In recognition of Dean Stamey's outstanding record in recruiting excellent faculty to Kansas State University and in recognition of the continuing need to foster excellence in teaching and advising, the College of Arts & Sciences has established the William L. Stamey Award.
This year's recipients of the Undergraduate Teaching Award are:
Sabri Ciftci, Michael W. Suleiman Chair in Arab and Arab-American Studies in the Department of Political Science. Ciftci received his Ph.D. from Florida State University in 2005. He specializes in the Middle Eastern and Turkish politics. His research focuses on Islam and democracy, Arab public opinion, and Turkish foreign policy. His most recent projects examine anti-Americanism in the Middle East and religious tolerance. Ciftci published widely in journals like Comparative Political Studies, Political Research Quarterly, International Journal of Middle East Studies, and Foreign Policy Analysis. He is the principal investigator of Turkish Parliamentarians Survey and Youth Attitudes about Turkish Foreign Policy project. He teaches courses in Middle East Politics, Political Islam, Comparative Politics, and Research Methods. Ciftci uses active learning methods and enjoys teaching about intercultural tolerance in his courses.
Lauren W. Ritterbush, associate professor of anthropology, is an archaeologist and ethnohistorian whose research focuses on understanding past Native societies and migration in the Great Plains. A member of K-State’s faculty since 1998, Ritterbush is devoted to undergraduate teaching and sharing the story of past Native peoples with the wider community. She draws students to learning with intriguing insights into our human past and the methods by which past cultures are revealed. In her classroom students engage with material remains, other primary sources, and critical thinking through evidence-based investigations. Ritterbush also encourages quality K-12 instruction as a Master Teacher with Project Archaeology, a national educational organization. Dedicated to the mission of the land-grant institution, she collaborates with departments of the City of Manhattan, regularly shares her insights with civic and other organizations, and assists the Kaw Nation with recognition of their historical and linguistic legacy. Ritterbush was also honored with the Stamey Award for Teaching in 2005.
Ashok Aryal is a graduate teaching assistant in mathematics with research interests in partial differential equation, free boundary problems and harmonic analysis. Aryal received a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and economics, before going on to earn a master’s in mathematics from Tribhuvan University in Nepal before coming to K-State in 2015. Aryal is a member of the numbers theory screening committee, a help session coordinator and the speakers program videographer with the math department.
The recipient of the Undergraduate Advising Award is:
Sarah Buchanan, who joined the Department of Psychological Sciences as their part-time academic advisor in 2013. She advises approximately 250 undergraduate students, meets with prospective and current K-State students interested in psychology, and provides information and guidance to faculty advisors. Sarah has worked on committees to develop guidelines for the KSIS advising notes, create a template for a university advising syllabus and served as the entertainment chair for the NACADA Region 7 Conference. Prior to her current position, Sarah worked as an academic program coordinator in the Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering Department, where she worked closely with faculty, staff, and students on undergraduate advising and programs. Sarah received her Master of Science in Counseling and Student Development and Graduate Certificate in Academic Advising from Kansas State University in 2009. Her previous experience included serving as a graduate research assistant in the Office of Student Activities and Services, where she developed the K-State Healthy Decisions and Guide to Personnel Success (GPS) mentor programs.
The Stamey Award winners will be recognized at the College of Arts & Sciences Commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 14 at 8:30 a.m. in Bramlage Coliseum.
