Rachel Halverson Awarded Ray Verzasconi Northwest Postsecondary Teacher of the Year Award
Halverson, who teaches German as a member of the Dept. of Foreign Languages and Cultures in the WSU College of Liberal Arts, has also taught in the WSU Honors College since 2000 and served there in 2007-2008 as an administrator. She will teach in Honors in spring 2009.
The Pacific Northwest Council for Languages (PNCFL) presents the Verzasconi and two other awards annually. Teachers are nominated by professional organizations for foreign language educators in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming.
Halverson was nominated for the Verzasconi award for 2008 by the Washington Association for Language Teaching (WAFLT). This award is based on classroom competency and professional involvement. Halverson was a member of the WAFLT Board from October 2004-October 2006, president of WAFLT from October 2006-October 2007, and past president of the organization from October 2007-October 2008.
Halverson believes that she was nominated by WAFLT for being a team player and working hard for the organization. Reviewers from the PNCFL committee remarked in the nomination that Halverson is a “well informed, active practitioner/leader,” “a worthy candidate,” and “an innovator who persists and applies theory into practice.” One reviewer felt that Halverson’s “impressive efforts have resulted in change.”
She helped with the recently approved Honors College curriculum revision; the curriculum now includes foreign language competency requirements for incoming students fall 2008 and beyond. She has also been a key team member organizing WSU’s Week of Remembrance for five years; affiliated with the Honors College, these events focus on the Holocaust and have featured guest speakers, films, musical performances, and numerous discussions. She received the WSU Honors College Faculty Award in 2002.
In 2005, she was awarded a national Certificate of Merit by the American Association of Teachers of German (AATG) and the Goethe-Institute New York.
Her motto for students is something the award winner believes in strongly: “If you want to make yourself competitive in the job market, you must learn a foreign language!”
CONTACT: Merik Metos, WSU Undergraduate Education Communications Intern, 509-335-8070, mmetos@wsu.edu
Libby Walker, Honors College Interim Dean, 509-335-4505, walkerl@wsu.edu