One of Gannon University’s biology professors has been awarded for his affinity of teaching by members of the sophomore class.
Bob Rawding, Ph. D., received the Professor of the Semester award, an honor that was selected by members of the honorary sophomore fraternity Lambda Sigma and then voted on by members of the sophomore class.
Rawding said he received a letter from the president of Lambda Sigma once he won the award.
“I was both completely surprised and flattered and felt very honored,” Rawding said.
Rawding said he knows a few members of Lamda Sigma who he’s had in class. One of those members is Brianna Mitchell, a sophomore nursing major.
Mitchell said she has taken Rawding for both of his anatomy and physiology classes and will be his lab assistant next year.
She said Rawding asked her tobe his lab assistant at the end of the fall semester for the next fall semester and she couldn’t pass it up.
“I can’t wait to work with Dr. Rawding more now that I’m done with classes that he teaches,” Mitchell said. “He’s a great professor and a great guy in general and it will be an honor to work alongside him.
“I miss his classes and being his lab assistant will refresh the information as well.”
Mitchell said she decided to nominate Rawding because she thinks he’s one of the best professors she has had. She said he would help her if she needed it, stay after class to help and meet with her if his office hours didn’t work with her schedule.
“He is, overall, a professor who would bend over backward for his students if any of them needed help,” Mitchell said.
Rawding has been teaching at Gannon for 13 years. He said he enjoys teaching and he’s taught at a number of different settings including public high schools, community colleges and universities.
Rawding said one of the enjoyable parts of teaching at a university is seeing students excel once he’s taught them. He said he also enjoys when he teaches a concept that isn’t easy and he sees students’ faces light up when they “get it.”
“Then, they honor you for the job you have done and that is really worth coming to every day,” Rawding said.
Another student who wanted to honor Rawding for his teaching was Shaylyn Walberg, a sophomore nursing major and the treasurer of Lambda Sigma.
Walberg said Rawding is very compassionate and wants what is best for his students. She said if she ever had a problem with school work or her life situations, he was always willing to help.
“I nominated Dr. Rawding because he would do anything above and beyond for his students,” Walberg said. “He makes his classes very interesting and makes learning in labs and group projects fun.”
Walberg said Rawding is a very intelligent man not only when it comes to biology, but he also has many life experiences that his students can learn from.
Walberg said she has taken both of Rawding’s anatomy and physiology classes and even though she doesn’t need to take any more of his classes for her major, she said she hopes to be one of his lab assistants for the fall semester.
“Each course that I took with him was a joy and a pleasure to be taught by him,” Walberg said. “I learned so much that I feel like an expert on the human body.”
Mitchell shared a similar viewpoint with Walberg. She said Rawding is always willing to help his students and his teaching style is interesting and attention-grabbing.
“Overall, Dr. Rawding is a phenomenal teacher and it is clear to me why he won this award,” Mitchell said. “I learned so much from him and I can’t wait to continue learning from him.”
KHADIJA DJELLOULI
