Six teaching awards, three Outstanding TA (teaching assistant) awards and 15 graduate student merit scholarships were given out at the Sloan School of Management's annual Faculty and Student Appreciation Awards on May 4. In addition, a student startup group received an award acknowledging the importance of entrepreneurship at MIT.
Excellence in Teaching awards went to faculty members Kevin F. Rock, visiting associate professor of finance;Roberto Rigobon, assistant professor of management; Rebecca M. Henderson, the Eastman Kodak LFM Professor of Management; and Paul Asquith, the Nanyang Technological University Professor of Management.
Teacher of the Year honors were shared by Lawrence M. Weiss, visiting professor of accounting, and Robert M. Freund, the Theresa Seley Professor of Management Science.
The three TA award-winners -- graduate students George Lordos of Larnaca, Cyprus; Carla Huffman of Newport Beach, CA and James (Jack) Busta of Akron, OH -- were cited for "their firm grasp of their material, clear teaching, and great patience and availability."
Graduate student award winners were singled out by their peers, faculty and staff for outstanding performance as leaders, motivators, change-agents, role models and exemplary citizens.
Rami Habal of Syria received the E. Pennell Brooks Fellowship for contributions to the Sloan community. Mark Wohlfarth of St. Louis, MO and Ben Ackerman of Atlanta got Petersen Awards for contributions to student life and excellence in academics. Martin Trust Community Fellowships for contributions to the community went to Matthew Schwartz of San Antonio, TX; David Lam of Pasadena, CA, Salvador Paiz of Miami; Kimberly Markert of Washington Depot, CT; and Dan Wheeler of Wichita, KS.
Joyce Pinkham of Cambridge and Simon Hughes of Epsom, England were awarded Henry Ford II Scholarships for academic achievement, leadership and contributions to Sloan. Kristina Fernandes of North Andover, MA andHernan Rissola of Buenoas Aires, Argentina received Miriam Sherburne Scholarships for academic achievement and leadership, with emphasis on contributions to student life.
Jack Busta won the Henry B. DuPont III Scholarship for academic achievement, demonstrated leadership and contributions to the community. Philippe Regnault of The Hague, Netherlands and Homayoun Hatami of Paris, France received Seley Scholarships for outstanding leadership, professional promise, academic achievement and contributions to Sloan.
The Patrick J. McGovern Award aims to attract and motivate future leaders of entrepreneurial activities. Given for the second time this year, the award was established by MIT's most generous philanthropist (last year Mr. McGovern, SB 1959, pledged $350 million to MIT). The winner was e-MIT, a student-run portal that aims to aggregate, at a single web site, all entrepreneurship activities within MIT, and to connect outside interested parties (venture capitalists, angels, incubators and alumni/ae) to those resources.
Thirteen second-year MBA students received checks for helping to start e-MIT, and three first-year students who will co-chair e-MIT next year won an additional sum to support their effort.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on May 31, 2000.
