Four IU faculty members receive teaching honor

When Glenn Gass was younger, he wrote a glowing piece of fan mail to his favorite band, the Beatles. He told his mother to send the letter, but instead of mailing the note, Gass’ mother framed it and recognized the importance of her son’s little piece of expression.

Now Gass is a history of rock ’n’ roll professor at IU, and has been for more than 30 years.

On Monday, Gass joined IU professors Colin Allen, Olaf Sporns and Richard Wilk as they were honored as “Provost Professors” at an induction ceremony in the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center. Professor Stephen Watt also received the Tracy M. Sonneborn Award at the ceremony. Faculty members were recognized for achieving local, national and international distinctions in teaching and research.

The Beatles were also recognized as a professional influence for more than one professor.

“Receiving this award will replace meeting the Beatles when I was 12 as my life claim to fame,” Wilk joked.

Wilk is a professor of anthropology who said he owes being named “Provost Professor” to sheer luck and the influence of his wife, Anne.

“I’ve just been really lucky to meet the right person and be at the right institution at the right time,” Wilk said. “I’m sure there are so many other people who deserve this award, but they just haven’t been as lucky as I have.”

Wilk has written numerous books on the subject of food anthropology, and his texts have been translated into several languages. His work “Economies and Cultures” is considered one of the most important texts for understanding economic anthropology.

“The bar on these speeches is going up rather quickly,” Sporns joked.

Sporns received the award for his work in neuroscience and is a professor of psychological and brain sciences at IU. He has published more than 100 articles about brain functions and has worked with the human connectivity project to decode the human genome.

He has also ascended to “near rock-star status in science,” Linda Smith, one of Barnes’ colleagues in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, said in the program flier.

Colin Allen, professor of history and philosophy of science, was also named “Provost Professor” for his study of science. Allen researches evolutionary animal cognition and behavior.

Robert Goldstone, director of the IU cognitive science program, called Allen “a jewel in the crown of cognitive science” in the program flier.

He then described Allen as “accessible, friendly and energetic, while also being a powerhouse of intellect and learning.”

The intellectual and personal characteristics of these professors is their greatest strength, said Cyndi Connelley-Eskine, Executive Assistant for the Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty and Academic Affairs.

Connelley-Eskine has been planning “Provost Professor” awards ceremonies for more than 10 years and is both a full-time student and full-time IU staff member.

As both a student and staff member, she said she truly appreciates “the great work they all do.”

She said she has been blessed enough to have been a student under some of these Provost Professors.

“You get to know these guys on a personal and professional level, and they’re very kind-hearted,” Connelly-Eskine said. “IU is a funner place to be at when you know you’ve got faculty who care.”

All professors thanked their students and colleagues in their award speeches, but Gass also thanked his mother and quoted a Bob Dylan song, “Shooting Star,” in her memory.

“Seen a shooting star tonight / And I thought of you / You were trying to break into a world / A world I never knew,” he said.

Gass’ mother has passed away, but he said he still thinks of her every day. He shares these lyrics with every class he teaches.

But Gass said it was only after a student came up to him and said the song helped her understand the death of her father that he “really heard the words.”

Gass “has had a major impact on undergraduate musical sophistication, appreciation and insight,” Bernice Pescosolido, Distinguished Professor of Sociology, said in the  program flier.

“This is not only because of his classes (which are legendary), but because of the creative activities which Glenn, as a musician and composer, brings to all of his local, national and international activities,” according to the program.