It may seem biased to admit, but any listing of the best professors in Pittsburgh should be incomplete without someone fromCarlow University being included.
But even we were surprised when the September issue of Pittsburgh Magazine featured an article on the best professors and classes in the region and five of the 15 professors mentioned byname were from Carlow.
Mary Burke, PhD, associate professor and chair of the doctoral program in counseling psychology (PsyD), Allyson Lowe, PhD, interim dean of the College of Leadership and Social Change, and chair and associate professor in political science, and Dale Huffman, MFA, chair and professor of art, were all mentioned in the “BestProfessors” article.
The September 2014 issue of Pittsburgh Magazine featured an article
on the best professors and classes in the region — five of the 15 professors mentioned were from Carlow University.
(Images above courtesy of Pittsburgh Magazine)
on the best professors and classes in the region — five of the 15 professors mentioned were from Carlow University.
(Images above courtesy of Pittsburgh Magazine)
Michael Balmert, PhD, professor of communication, and Jessica Friedrichs, MSW, MPA, an assistant professor in social work, coordinator of service learning, and co-director of the HonorsProgram, were featured in the “Best Classes” article for the honors class on Human Dignity that they team taught.
“On behalf of the entire University community, I want to commend Mary, Allyson, Dale, Michael, and Jessica for their continuous attention to excellence in teaching and their focus on out students,” said Suzanne K. Mellon, PhD, president of CarlowUniversity. “As faculty, that is the reason students come — and stay — here. All of our faculty make Carlow standout!”
Aside from being included on the publication’s list, Burke,Lowe, and Huffman have something else in common that may have influenced their selection: they each are active outside the classroom.
Burke is the founder of a non-profit organization, the Project to End Human Trafficking, as well as the Western PennsylvaniaAnti-Human Trafficking Coalition, and admits that her experiences with those organizations helps to shape her work teaching psychology to graduate students at Carlow.
Lowe, who created the pre-law program at Carlow, also runs a summer workshop, titled Pre-Law and Order, for high school and college-age women who are considering legal careers.
“I’m looking for ways to help students find a voice for themselves,” Lowe told Pittsburgh Magazine.
For more than a decade, Huffman, an internationally renowned potter in his own right, has hosted students and local potters in the clay studio at Carlow for a pottery marathon, called “Bowls in the Night,” where all the bowls made that evening go to the GreaterPittsburgh Community Food Bank and Just Harvest’s annual EmptyBowls Dinner.
The Human Dignity honors course, where students studied issues like capital punishment, euthanasia, and ethical behavior in healthcare (among other topics) to derive a better understanding of”human dignity,” was well-received by students and teachers.
“Team teaching, working, and writing with Jessica is fabulous,” said Balmert. “That class in Human Dignity was easily one of the best — among many fabulous experiences I have had atCarlow.”
Friedrichs echoes that sentiment.
“I feel fortunate to be at Carlow where we are encouraged to be creative and to follow our passion for teaching,” she said.”Michael is an excellent mentor and we are lucky to have him here — as well as everyone featured in the article.”
Faculty excellence doesn’t stop with the professors mentioned in the magazine either, as several members of the list were quick to point out.
“To be associated with such a phenomenal group of gifted faculty…both on this list and the many others not specifically named in this publication that easily could have been…is indeed an honor,” said Balmert. “Working side-by-side with such talented, dedicated, and passionate individuals is why I believe so deeply in Carlow and what we do here. It is a blessing!”
