Bellarmine University professors have captured three of four Kentuckiana Metroversity Instructional Development awards. Karen Golemboski and Elizabeth Hinson-Hasty each collected $1,000 for their respective proposals. Steven D. Wilt and David J. Porta shared a $1,000 prize for their joint proposal.
Kentuckiana Metroversity Inc. is a consortium of seven institutions of higher education in the Louisville metropolitan area. The instructional development awards are made possible by the H. Charles Grawemeyer Foundation and Metroversity funds. Metroversity distributes the competitive awards each year to professors who present the best designs for instructional development in college teaching. Winners received the awards in a ceremony Nov. 5 at Bellarmine.
Golemboski’s submission was titled, “Atlantic Storm in the classroom – a global bioterrorism scenario.” Using a tabletop exercise prepared by the Center for Biodefense and Infectious Diseases, Manassas, Va., students assumed the roles of world leaders dealing with an intentional release of smallpox virus. They simulated the challenges of coordinating international strategies to control the disease outbreak.
Hinson-Hasty’s submission was titled, “Theology from the Margins.” The course was designed to encourage students to discuss their own experiences, experiences of marginalized people and religious concepts of justice and inclusion. Students participated in two immersion experiences: a poverty simulation conducted on campus by the Coalition for the Homeless and an off-campus immersion designed in cooperation with another local organization.
The joint proposal by Porta and Wilt was titled, “An Interdisciplinary Approach to Teaching Tropical Marine Biology.” The proposal introduced a global approach to instruction in coral reef ecology in Belize, including more history, culture and social justice issues than most traditional tropical marine biology courses.
Bellarmine University is an independent Catholic university offering more than 50 majors, as well as graduate degree programs and a doctor of physical therapy. Forbes magazine and the Princeton Review rank Bellarmine among America’s best colleges, and U.S. News and World Report consistently ranks Bellarmine as a top tier university.