Alumni Association Honors Four Outstanding Teachers
For release: Mar. 25, 2003
For press information, contact Gabrielle Maxey

Four professors have been chosen to receive the 2003 University of Memphis Alumni Association Distinguished Teaching Awards. Each will accept a $2,000 award March 28 during the University's annual Faculty Convocation.

The honored teachers are Dr. David Ciscel, professor of economics; Dr. Corinna A. Ethington, professor of counseling, educational psychology and research; Dr. Mark B. Freilich, associate professor of chemistry; and Dr. Phillip T. Kolbe, associate professor of finance, insurance and real estate.

Ciscel, who joined the U of M faculty in 1973, is a sought-after expert on the regional economy. "He is well known as a professor who can make economics interesting and relevant," wrote his department chairman, Dr. Cyril Chang.

Ciscel's research areas include issues in gender and labor and regional community development. Ciscel has published more than 150 articles and monographs on topics ranging from executive compensation levels and the value of household labor to the impact of regional economic development.

Ethington is nationally and internationally known for her research on college students and the broader domain of gender differences at all educational levels, with a focus on performance, persistence and achievement in mathematics and scientific fields. She is asked frequently to present seminars on multivariate methodologies at conferences for faculty and students on other university campuses.

Freilich teaches first-year chemistry courses. His areas of research include the potential for use of the World Wide Web as a teaching resource in chemistry, how students use and adapt to simulation software when being introduced to chemical concepts, the effects of testing on learning, and the effects of time restrictions on test performance.

Kolbe's primary area of expertise is real estate, but he also teaches finance, and he lectures in two prestigious master of business administration programs, the Executive MBA and the International MBA. His strength is his ability to work with and relate to students, wrote Dr. Robert Taylor, chairman of the Management Department.

"He is consistently one of the most requested professors for volunteer speeches and guest lecture appearances in students' work organizations," said Taylor.

Kolbe also counsels student athletes and is the sole adviser for real estate students.

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