Lisa Heldke
Most of us can think back to a special teacher who touched us in a significant way. Perhaps, a teacher who gently guided you in the process of finding yourself. A teacher who changed the direction of your life and affected how you view the world. A teacher who influenced you in ways you are still discovering. Or a teacher who believed in you and gave you confidence to do things you didn’t think you could do. The Edgar M. Carlson Award for Distinguished Teaching is awarded annually to one such teacher.
This year’s winner is surely one who has touched many lives. There are many phrases students and colleagues use to describe this individual. A few include insightful, fun, engaging, attentive, creative, good humored, passionate, excited, humble, straight forward and challenging. A repeated accolade is her skill and success at getting students to view themselves as principled, lifelong learners. About this professor, a student says she “promotes the exchange of ideas and critical thinking within the examination and appreciation of diverse backgrounds.” This professor creates a strong intellectual climate that facilitates academic growth, ethical attitudes, and dignity for all members of the community, both inside and outside the classroom.
Teaching students to think critically is a hallmark of this individual. One student writes, “I love what we do in here and how hard we have to think and that we’re doing it together.” A colleague comments on this year’s winner that she “does not walk into a classroom as the authority, rather she challenges students to grapple with really hard material and to think it out for themselves.” Indeed, this teacher pushes students to extend their boundaries and think farther than they thought possible. She believes that change comes from education, moreover, the ability of individuals to critically think and to develop the confidence to raise one’s voice in the interest of social progress.
Raising one’s voice is easier in the classroom of this professor than most others. Here is a classroom in which students feel safe enough to ask tough questions that in other settings, they might be embarrassed or afraid to ask. A student writes, “[She] provides the greatest classroom experience. She implores discussion from those who are often less inclined, which has developed an atmosphere of full rights to everyone.” A colleague says, “Somehow [she] has managed to make it ‘cool’ for students to be honest when they don’t understand concepts.”
Her open, honest style and personal goals are clearly part of her effectiveness as a teacher. A student notes, “The manner in which she inspires us to learn passionately about everyday real issues is combined with high expectations for learning.” Indeed, this teacher has touched many lives, not just students but colleagues, mine own included as well as others in the Saint Peter community. I am deeply honored to invite this year’s winner,
Professor Heldke received her undergraduate degree from this college in 1982. She earned her Ph.D. from Northwestern University in 1986 and joined tile faculty at Gustavus in 1988. Dr. Heldke teaches a wide range of courses in philosophy and women’s studies, including courses in feminist theory, history of philosophy, race theory, food ethics, and tile philosophy of education. She has worked with students in a variety of ways to raise consciousness on topics such as the origin of one’s food or the celebration of diversity. She has organized campus wide teach-ins on several topics. She is tireless advocate of experiential education and service learning both within the campus community and outside. She has been a board member of HECUA (the Higher Education Consortium for Urban Affairs) since 1993 and has guided many a student toward these excellent programs. Lisa has published three books and countless articles. Recent books spring from her interest in the philosophy of food, titled Exo1ic Appetites: Ruminations of a Food Adventurer, and from her interest in race theory, titled, Oppression, Privilege and Resistance: Theoretical Readings 011 Racism, Sexism and Heterosexism. Dr. Heldke has served on the editorial board of several publications including the infamous Philosophers on Holiday.
Teaching is not just about learning. In the practice of Dr. Heldke and in the words of philosopher-educator John Dewey, “Education is the fundamental method of social progress and reform… Through education society can formulate its own purposes, can organize its own means and resources, and thus shape itself. Education thus conceived marks the most perfect and intimate union of science and art conceivable in human experience.” Professor Lisa Heldke embodies this intimate union as an educator, role model, friend, colleague, and activist of change.
Presented by Cindy Johnson
Associate Professor of Biology
2003 Recipient of the Edgar M. Carlson Award