Dr. Sarah McCallum, Assistant Professor in the Department of Religious Studies and Classics, is the recipient of the College of Humanities 2024 Distinguished Teaching Award.
"The department is fortunate indeed to have such a dedicated master teacher among our faculty,” said Karen Seat, Religious Studies and Classics Department Head. “Few faculty spend as much time as Dr. McCallum outside the classroom with individual students to help them succeed and achieve the learning outcomes in her academically rigorous courses.”
McCallum joined the department in 2017 and she expertly teaches courses in two different languages—Latin and Ancient Greek—as well as English-language general education courses. She has been instrumental in increasing enrollments in both language programs, for which she teaches every level from 101 courses through graduate courses.
“Dr. McCallum has perfected the art of guiding students through complex, unfamiliar concepts from ancient Greek and Roman culture and language, through both clear and beautifully constructed presentation as well as active learning in which students are primed to grapple with the material themselves. While she is definitely a sage, she does not monopolize the stage; rather she equips students with the tools they need to develop their own mastery of the material,” wrote another faculty nominator.
“Dr. McCallum is an exceptional teacher who shows great empathy toward her students. Her enthusiasm and passion for the study of Latin was contagious, and it inspired me with my studies,” wrote one former student who took four classes with McCallum. “Thanks to her compassionate and attentive teaching style, I pursued advanced Latin levels that I never thought were attainable. From my personal experience, Dr. McCallum is a dedicated professor who strives to provide her students with quality education and learning experiences.”
“Dr. McCallum embodies the qualities that this award aims to honor – she is incredibly passionate about teaching and she works extremely hard to accommodate, support and engage her students,” wrote another student. “Dr. McCallum tirelessly strives to support every student and uses many different methods to make sure that everyone is keeping up and excelling. She recognizes that students learn things in different ways, and isn’t afraid to shake things up to make concepts more understandable or engaging. Her tireless efforts, care and passion have made her the most effective and enjoyable language professor I have ever had.”
“Professor McCallum takes the cake for best professor. If there were two cakes, I’m confident she would take the other one too. Never before have I met an educator as dedicated as her, nor one as inspiring, understanding, innovative, or receptive to her students’ learning needs,” wrote another student. “With her support and enthusiasm, she inspires students to be equally excited about what we’re learning, rather than scared about exams and fearful of being wrong about something. She promotes collaboration and engagement, using group work and class review to reinforce our understanding of content and create a positive learning environment.”
“Throughout my time as a Classics student at three different universities, I have yet to encounter such a unique and effective approach to Latin instruction. She was the first professor I had who provided a tangible model of how to question, challenge and improve upon the way Latin is taught,” wrote a student who completed a master’s degree in Classics. “The successes of Professor McCallum’s teaching are a direct result of her commitment to education and her students. Every detail of each class is carefully thought out and each activity has a purpose directly related to the growth of her students.”