Associate spanish professor honored with FACET award at annual retreat

IU awarded associate professor Joseph Clements the 2004 Faculty Colloquium on Excellence Teaching Award program's annual retreat this weekend. \nIn recognition of his dedicated teaching and research in the fields of Hispanic and Contact Linguistics, Clements, an associate professor in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese and adjunct associate professor in the Department of Linguistics, received the award along with 18 other faculty members from IU campuses across the state. \nClements and his fellow recipients were honored at the FACET retreat, held Friday through Sunday at the Fourwinds Resort and Marina in Bloomington.\nThe FACET award signifies a commitment to teaching and learning. Clements said he still finds the motivation to connect with his students and make language "real."\n"My courses are very hands on," he said. "I try to get people to think about their language and to realize how fundamental it is. Everywhere there are contact languages, there are social issues."\nClements was nominated for the award by members of his department and approved by a University-wide committee based in Indianapolis. He will join the 422 other distinguished IU faculty who have been admitted to FACET since its inception 15 years ago. Clements said he admittedly experienced disbelief after learning he was selected.\n"I feel like I'm doing a job and having fun with it," he admitted. "I like doing what I do, and it's strange being recognized for it ... It's humbling." \nTeaching didn't always come easily for Clements. Educated in Germany and Spain, he was accustomed to European teaching methods much different than in the United States.\n"European models don't spoon feed you," he explained. "The courses are less structured, and students are required to be more proactive than in the United States. Here, it's more broken down."\nAs a result, a gap developed between Clements and his students early in his career. When the issue was brought to his attention by colleagues, Clements worked to remedy the problem. He listened to input from his students and worked with teaching resources to improve his methods.\n"I learned how learning works and adjusted my teaching accordingly," he said. "I'm now more tuned-in to my students. As long as I know what I'm teaching, I'm more able to concentrate on the how." \nDespite its slow beginning, Clements' teaching career has since seen its share of success. He was recognized in 1998 by the Spanish and Portuguese Department's Teaching Excellence Recognition Program and is now director of undergraduate studies in that department as well as director of the Hispanic Linguistics Program. He was also chosen by the Graduate Students Advisory Committee of the Spanish and Portuguese Department as graduate mentor of 2003. He is the first professor to hold this title. \n"As director of undergraduate studies, he has served to promote undergraduate issues in our department," said Spanish and Portuguese professor Catherine Larson. "He is also devoted to overseas study and has done a lot to encourage students to study abroad." Larson, who is also associate dean of undergraduate studies in the College of Arts and Sciences and a FACET member herself, has known Clements since he arrived in Bloomington in 1985.\n"He describes his teaching as a work in progress, and views it as a process, not a product," Larson said. "He makes a concerted effort to evaluate his teaching, and his students really appreciate his attention."\nFACET was established as an Indiana University Presidential Initiative in 1989 to promote and sustain teaching excellence. Once admitted to the group, FACET members lend their experience and skills to a number of cooperative and collaborative activities. \n"Unlike a lot of honors, FACET is ongoing," Larson said. "There are numerous activities throughout the year to promote the art and craft of teaching."\nFACET activities planned for 2004 include the Leadership Institute, Associate Faculty Conference, Future Faculty Teaching Fellows Conference in partnership with the Office of the Vice President for Research and further efforts to establish the Mack Center at IU for Inquiry on Teaching and Learning.\n-- Contact staff writer Derek Smith at deresmit@indiana.edu.