Hill-Clarke, Hempel Will Receive Briggs Teaching Awards
For release: Mar. 25, 2003
For press information, contact Gabrielle Maxey

Dr. Kantaylieniere Hill-Clarke and Dr. Nele Hempel will receive the 2003 Thomas W. Briggs Foundation Excellence in Teaching Award at The University of Memphis. The award recognizes teaching excellence at the undergraduate level and overall commitment to undergraduate education.

Hill-Clarke is an assistant professor of instruction and curriculum leadership; Hempel is an assistant professor of foreign languages. They were chosen from a record number of 26 nominations. Each will receive the $5,000 award during the University's annual Faculty Convocation at 2 p.m. Thursday, March 28, in the Rose Theatre.

Hill-Clarke, a reading specialist and member of the International Reading Association, is trusted and respected by her students. She manages a diverse teaching style that combines modeling and direct instruction. Students are told how to teach and shown how to teach. "Dr. Hill-Clarke comes to class prepared and ebullient. She is excited and happy to be there," wrote a student who nominated her for the award. "From her 'sizzle' applause to her 'what makes me special,' Dr. Clarke models exciting ways to engage learners in the classroom."

A graduate of LeMoyne-Owen College, Hill-Clarke earned her master's degree and her doctorate from The U of M.

Hempel, who teaches German language and literature, has attracted many students with her innovative teaching techniques. "She varies between individual and group exercises that include role play," wrote a colleague, Dr. Monika Nenon. "Often she makes new concepts visual for students. For instance, in order to teach colors, she puts on a clown's wig. In these situations she becomes almost an actor and is not afraid to perform on her class stage in an expressive way."

She convinced her colleagues in the German section of the U of M Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures to adopt a new textbook, which significantly changed the way elementary classes are taught. Often she can be found in the Tiger Den cafeteria offering students advice or helping them practice their spoken German.

Hempel earned a master's degree from Washington University and a doctorate from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

The Briggs Award, established in 1996, is named for the founder of Welcome Wagon International. Nominees are judged on the bases of teaching skills, classroom performance, their role in the overall development of undergraduates, and the results of student rating surveys.

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