The Deborah Gerner Innovative Teaching in International Studies Award honors the legacy of Misty Gerner as not only a fine scholar, but also as a passionate and dedicated teacher and mentor. To carry her memory and mission forward, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers and the editorial board of the New Millennium Books in International Studies series have sponsored a Deborah “Misty” Gerner Innovative Teaching in International Studies Award, which would be granted annually to an instructor who has developed effective new approaches to teaching in the discipline. Examples could include innovative case studies, teaching software, and simulations. Preference will be given to materials that can be easily adapted by other instructors. In keeping with Misty’s interests and commitments and the goals of the New Millennium Book Series, emphasis will be on pedagogy that engages students with issues of war, peace, identity, sovereignty, security, and sustainability—economic, environmental, or ethical—as they are evolving in the 21st century.
Award Details
For a listing of previous awardees, please see the Past Award Recipients page.
Submission/Nomination
- Criteria for review include evidence of the following:
- Taken reasonable risk to invest time and energy into doing something new or different - e.g., innovative - in a class
- Reflected on the experience and taken the next steps of refining/enhancing the innovation to improve its effectiveness (e.g., response to referee/ evaluation)
- Shared the innovation with colleagues in some way (e.g., local campus workshops, modeling for Graduate Teaching Assistants, publication in appropriate venue, etc.)
- Proven teaching abilities (e.g., teaching award nominee/recipient, student evaluations, other)
- Developed classroom exercises that clearly engage students and bring the real world into the classroom.
- Nominations should include a current C.V. of the nominee and a cover letter that describes the nominee's teaching achievements. Nominations should be sent by e-mail to all members of the Award Committee. The deadline for nominations is October 15th.
Prize
- The recipient will receive $500 and a plaque, funded by donations from Rowman & Littlefield and from members of the NMB editorial board, as well as other friends and colleagues who wish to contribute.
- The award will be presented at the ISA awards ceremony by a Rowman & Littlefield representative and a member of the awards committee.
Award Committee
Committee vacancies are filled as nomination by the incoming President of ISA and approved by the Governing Council. The committee is made up of three members with staggered three year terms. One person on the committee typically comes from the ALIAS section of the ISA.
Mary DurfeeCHAIR | FEB 2010 - APR 2013Michigan Technological University mhdurfee@mtu.edu | |
Victor AsalMEMBER | FEB 2010 - MAR 2013 |
Amaney A. JamalMEMBER | APR 2012 - FEB 2015Princeton University ajamal@Princeton.EDU |

