The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Alumni Association has selected Dr. Jeffrey Skoblow as its 2013 Great Teacher Award recipient. He is a professor of English Language and Literature in the College of Arts and Sciences. Skoblow is the 45th SIUE faculty member to receive the honor since its inception in 1970.
“Jeffrey is a one of the most student-centered professors I’ve ever known,” said Sharon James McGee associate professor and chair of the Department of English Language and Literature. “His passion for the material shows through in the classroom. He uses a variety of engaging assignments to help students experience literature, not just read it.
“As a mentor, he is concerned first and foremost with students’ progress and success. He is every student’s biggest cheerleader. He wants every student to do well and succeed both in school and in their lives beyond the University.”
Skoblow joined the SIUE faculty in 1987. He has served as a Fulbright senior lecturer in American Literature and Culture at the University of Lleida, Spain, and at the University of Barcelona, Spain. He also was a visiting lecturer at UCLA.
“I’m truly honored and very touched to receive this award from the alumni,” Skoblow said. “I generally have at least some sense of how my current students feel about their experiences in my classes. But to know that years later this experience still matters in a powerful and positive way is very gratifying to me.”
He is the author of “Dooble Tongue: Scots, Burns, Contradiction”and “Paradise Dislocated: Morris, Politics, Art.”
“Professor Skoblow has the rare quality of being both delicate and generous in his suggestions and advice to students, never imposing his views as ultimately the right ones,” said one of Skoblow’s nominators. “On the other hand, his bar of academic, teaching and ethical standards is always raised high. He is a dedicated teacher who is demanding, but at the same time cares about his students’ progress, which makes him highly effective.”
Photo: Jeffrey Skoblow.