Outstanding Academic Advisor
Ernst Schoen-Rene "Having someone believe in you is the sweetest gift one person can give another, and Ernst Schoen-Rene gave that gift to me." -- Dianna Winslow, Advisee Ernst Schoen-Rene was named Outstanding Teacher in 1984. His love for the humanities, his enthusiasm and creativity in the classroom, and his dedication to students were rewarded then. His receipt of the Outstanding advisor Award for 2000-2001 recognizes that same enthusiasm and dedication to students. The sheer quantity of advising that Schoen-Rene does is impressive. He advises the more than 150 English department students preparing for the Credential Program; he evaluates the 25 or more portfolios of students wishing to challenge the upper-division writing course for liberal studies majors; he talks with dozens of outside students who seek his advice on subject-matter competency in English; and he advises pre-credential candidates, using a 172-page teacher-learner's handbook he has written, which helps prepare students for the department's subject-matter competency interviews and for their future careers as teachers. Schoen-Rene not only lists his office hours and phone number on his office door, but also his e-mail, home telephone, and home address. He is accessible. He is willing to accommodate the varying needs of student advisees who may have to drive hundreds of miles, call at night, or meet after hours for competency interviews. Lynn Elliott, chair of the Department of English, wrote in a letter of nomination about a series of forums Schoen-Rene organizes, "Ernst assumes a tremendous responsibility for pre-credential students. Throughout, he is driven by one thought: the educational welfare of these students creates excellent future teachers in California's school system." He does all of this with availability, energy, kindness, humor, and warmth, according to the written comments from his colleagues and advisees supporting his nomination. One student who will be graduating this spring captures the spirit of the comments from others. She wrote in her letter of nomination, "I will walk through commencement thinking of Professor Schoen-Rene with enormous gratitude... He has modeled for me what it means to be a committed and passionate teacher and advisor." Schoen-Rene is teaching in the Semester in London Program during the spring semester. |
