Four faculty members in chemistry, history, psychology and surgery received awards today from their peers, in recognition of outstanding teaching at the University of California, Davis. Linda Acredolo, a professor of psychology; Dr. F. William Blaisdell, a professor of surgery; Donald A. McQuarrie, a professor of chemistry; and Michael L. Smith, an associate professor of history, each received a Distinguished Teaching Award from the campus division of the Academic Senate. The awards, established in 1973, are given annually during the spring quarter to as many as four faculty members. Acredolo, who has taught 16 years at UC Davis, was praised especially for popular courses, taken by students at all levels, that have a reputation of being "unusually demanding," according to the committee that named the award recipients. "Professor Acredolo teaches her students to think logically and to synthesize information. Her courses are dynamic and changing as she incorporates new research results into the curriculum," said committee members. In addition to her courses, Acredolo teaches undergraduates about research in her child development laboratory. As chair of her department's undergraduate and graduate curriculum committee, she has initiated significant curriculum changes. Her impact on the teaching of undergraduates also was recognized through an invitation to participate in a symposium on teaching organized by the Western Psychological Association. Blaisdell, chair of the surgery department at the School of Medicine since 1978, was lauded as someone who inspires his students and teaches by example. "He believes that every student should obtain a core of fundamental knowledge and then adapt a lifelong approach to learning medicine and related sciences," said committee members. Recognized throughout his career for his dedication to teaching, while also handling local, regional and national responsibilities, Blaisdell was named by students in 1988 as their outstanding clinical instructor. When he taught at UCSF, he received four teaching awards. In addition to his teaching and research at UC Davis, Blaisdell is active at other institutions, serving as a visiting professor 20 times during the past seven years, six times in foreign countries. McQuarrie is described as an instructor with infectious enthusiasm who teaches students at all levels of the chemistry curriculum, ranging from first-year to graduate students. Especially noted is his ability to teach complicated subject matter clearly while also motivating students. "He is an exceptional instructor who has made outstanding contributions to the quality and effectiveness of the teaching program in the chemistry department and, through his widely adopted textbooks at the lower-division, upper-division and graduate levels, he has had an international impact upon teaching at hundreds of colleges and universities," said committee members. The author or co-author of several widely used textbooks, McQuarrie has also served as a visiting professor at a number of foreign universities. In order to teach students in South America in their native language, he learned Spanish. Smith, honored early for his teaching while a graduate student at Yale University and a faculty member at Williams College, has taught a variety of history courses since coming to UC Davis in 1986. "His primary goal is not to teach his students what happened in the past. Rather it is to help them acquire a sense of critical engagement with the past as a means of developing basic analytical thinking skills, which can in turn be applied not only in the academic realm but in everyday life as well," said committee members. He is viewed as an "intellectually stimulating" teacher who has a transformative impact on his students. By providing a range of interpretations and analyzing popular truths, Smith helps students learn how to critically assess information and point out potential flaws in arguments and presentations.