Four faculty members in economics, environmental studies, biological sciences and chemical engineering were honored today for their outstanding teaching by their colleagues at the University of California, Davis. Receiving the Distinguished Teaching Award from the campus division of the Academic Senate were Peter H. Lindert, a professor of economics; Seymour I. Schwartz, a professor of environmental studies; Arnold J. Sillman, a professor of physiology; and Pieter Stroeve, a professor of chemical engineering. Established in 1973, the awards are given annually during the spring quarter to as many as four faculty members. Lindert was recognized for the infectious enthusiasm and unwavering energy of his teaching. After lectures in his introductory macroeconomics class, he can be found in the coffee house having informal discussions with undergraduates. He has taught classes with hundreds of students and has been deeply involved in more personal education through the Senior Thesis Program. According to his colleagues, Lindert has been key to students' participation in the program. "He inspired me; he is one of the reasons I have applied to graduate school in economics," said one of his students in the Senior Thesis Program. "He is the model of what kind of professor I would like to be." Lindert has authored a well-known text titled "International Economics" and also has served as the director of the Agricultural History Center since 1987. Schwartz has taught a variety of environmental policy analysis courses in his more than 20 years at Davis. He has pulled students into the learning process with hands-on, problem-focused projects that promote collaboration in the classroom. Students indicate they developed worthwhile analytical tools in Schwartz's classes. "Due largely to Schwartz, I graduated with a quiver full of practical skills and an ability to analyze problems," commented one student. Schwartz also has done most of the undergraduate advising for the environmental policy analysis and planning major, and is a graduate adviser for ecology students in this area of emphasis. Sillman was honored for his positive impact on the thousands of students he has influenced. He has a strong ability to spread enthusiasm in large classes, and regularly has involved undergraduates in his own laboratory. He has co-taught the general organ physiology course since he arrived on campus 20 years ago, and he has been able to make the process of learning physiology an enjoyable experience. "He has the ability to entertain, to enthrall and to inspire his students," said one former student. "Dr. Sillman used a combination of wit, showmanship and scholarship to capture his students' attention. Once he had it, he held it with superb organization, relevance and total command of the subject matter." Sillman also is an honorary member of the Davis chapter of the Golden Key Honor Society, which recognizes his successful interaction with undergraduates. Stroeve was praised for his ability to make abstract, theoretical concepts understandable for students. He has done so by constantly referring to practical problems that students will encounter in professional activities. After only one year of teaching at Davis, he received the Magnar Ronning Award for Teaching Excellence, and after less than a decade he received this coveted award a second time. Stroeve has improved his lectures through mid-quarter evaluations, where he addresses comments from his students. The undergraduate and graduate courses he has developed have been quite successful, and have attracted many non-majors. "Pieter is an excellent teacher, both in class and outside," commented one student. "I appreciate how he makes such an abstract subject become so interesting."