2020 Outstanding Part-Time Faculty Teaching Award Winners

Dr. Conrady, who earned her doctorate in modern languages from Middlebury College, has taught French at John Carroll for many years. Her colleagues and students praised her for her innovative teaching and her dedication to student learning. One student commented, “Her passionate and thorough teaching style truly helped me to not only understand the material but to be fully engaged in learning.”  Another student wrote, “Her lesson plans were always well organized and her patience with students unparalleled. She was able to incorporate our struggles and interests into her lesson plans with ease.”  

In addition, her colleagues and students reflected on the many ways Dr. Conrady has extended learning experiences outside the traditional classroom, including the French Club and the Concours de la Maison Francaise de Cleveland (French language contest) at JCU. She has also taken students abroad and helped to facilitate a meeting of JCU students with French officials at the Elysee Palace in Paris to deliver a “Proclamation of Solidarity” after the 2015 terrorist attacks there.  About this experience one of her former students wrote, “[Dr. Conrady’s] actions had garnered us a meeting with one of [Francois] Hollande’s closest advisers and a tour of the presidential palace; this is an honor seldom given to French citizens, let alone tourists.”

Dr. Hellwig, who earned his doctorate in Philosophy from the University of California Riverside, is a John Carroll alumnus and has taught here since 2018.  Comments by his colleagues and students demonstrate his care for the material he teaches and his students’ engagement with it. As one student wrote, “A good teacher is one who challenges students and guides them towards patterns of thought which will enhance their life. This very much aligns with what I have seen in Dr. Hellwig. He plans his classes intending to teach more than the required subject matter, and he takes time to guide his students.” Another student added, “Beyond being a great teacher, Dr. Hellwig is also a genuinely kind person who always made time to speak with students and responded quickly to their emails. His comments on my papers were among the most helpful and detailed that I have received from any professor.  I was able to feel confident as a student with the knowledge that he valued my success.” 

Dr. Hellwig’s colleagues also praised him for creating learning experiences outside regular classes, such as his efforts to bring speakers to campus and to organize student reading groups.  Of particular note, he was recognized for organizing an event at the Cleveland Museum of Art that allowed students and faculty to examine and discuss a Georgia O’Keefe exhibition.  One of his colleagues noted, “Heinrik orchestrated the entire event…. It was an enriching experience for all of us, and we have [him] to thank for it.”