October 7, 2008
Cassling Family Faculty Award recipients Sonja Giles and Gordon Miller with College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Dean Michael Whiteford.
Two faculty members receive Cassling Family Faculty Awards for outstanding
teaching
Two faculty members in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (LAS) at Iowa State University have been named recipients of the Cassling Family Faculty Awards.
Gordon Miller, professor of chemistry, and Sonja Giles, assistant professor of music were recognized at last night's LAS Teaching Awards Dinner.
The Cassling Family Faculty Awards recognize and reward outstanding faculty in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Two faculty members will each receive a $5000 award – one for outstanding teaching performance over an extended period of time at Iowa State and one for early achievement in teaching.
The awards were established by Randal and Lori Cassling of Omaha, Neb, in honor of Randal's parents, Robert and Rita Lenore Dunn Cassling of Omaha, Neb. Robert Cassling is a 1956 graduate of Iowa State while Rita attended Iowa State and was a former Homecoming queen.
Giles excels as an instructor of both flute performance and music theory. She is a highly-talented faculty member who brings a sense of confident preparedness to everything she does, whether it be reaching, performing, pedagogical research of administrative assignments. Since coming to Iowa State, she has established and maintained a reputation among her colleagues and students as one of the Department of Music's most gifted instructors.
In his 18 years at Iowa State, Miller has improved the student academic experience in chemistry at ISU and other campuses in the state. He has worked to improve safety in the lab and environmental responsibility and has increased opportunities for first-year undergraduates to become involved in research.
