For Immediate Release

Date:  May 5, 2006

BLOOMSBURG—Two Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania professors have been selected as the 2006 TALE Outstanding Teaching Award recipients. Steven D. Hales, professor of philosophy, and William V. Hudon, professor of history and chair of the history department, were nominated by graduating seniors for the TALE Award, sponsored by the Teaching and Learning Enhancement Center.

Hale was nominated for his ability to make course discussions and materials engaging and understandable. “He has the ability of turning the most complex and convoluted of articles into easily understood arguments. Even more so, he cares not only about our understanding of the arguments, but also about what we think about them…Through his teaching and support I, like so many others, have become a better thinker,” a student wrote in a nomination. 

Another student wrote, “He excels at taking complex subject matter and presenting it in a way that even novices in the field…can understand.” 

Hudon was nominated for his helpfulness and accessibility outside the classroom. “I ended up in that office many times over the semester,” wrote one student in a nomination. “What awaited me there was a patient and kind individual that refused to let me give up; a person who allotted as much time as it took to help me understand the direction I was going and that I did indeed have the ability to complete the required tasks.” 

Another student wrote “(Hudon’s) greatest ability is to be amazingly approachable to all of the students.”

The TALE professors will receive a plaque and a monetary award at the May commencement ceremonies. The monetary award is funded by the BU Foundation.

Bloomsburg University is one of 14 universities in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. The university serves approximately 8,000 students and offers 65 bachelor’s, 17 master’s and one doctoral degree.

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