Excellence in Teaching Awards are given to graduate students for instructional excellence as teaching assistants. Awardees receive $2,500.

Scott Harding - Social Welfare

The University of Kansas' gain certainly will be the University of Washington's loss next fall when Scott Harding leaves to join the faculty in Lawrence, Kan. as an assistant professor of social welfare.

Harding, who will finish work on his doctorate next month, already has made an indelible impact on students as a teacher in the UW's School of Social Work, so much of an impact that he is one of the recipients of the Excellence in Teaching Awards for 2000.

Scott Harding

"Making a difference is very important," says Harding, who transformed his undergraduate education in journalism and political science into work in labor rights, poverty and other social issues and Central American human rights before tackling graduate school.

"I've committed my life to work toward making society a better place and creating social change. Teaching and doing research is another way of having an impact. If I'm not changing minds, at least perhaps I'm opening minds to seeing different points of view.

"I feel fortunate to have had multiple opportunities to teach here and it has offered me the chance to learn a lot about myself while teaching many people.

"You get rewards in strange ways. I get to see those ah-ha moments and can see the light bulb going on in someone's mind. All of this makes me feel as if I'm doing a good job, making a difference," he says.

Harding brings his dedication and a commitment to social justice to his classroom where he has taught undergraduate and graduate courses on social policy, cultural diversity and social justice, community practice, as well as a highly lauded class on poverty in America.

"I heard about Scott's talents as a teacher long before objective evidence was available from his student ratings. I picked up on the 'buzz' that his class on poverty was among the best that many students had taken in their academic careers," says Susan Kemp, a social work assistant professor.

"In describing what made the class so valuable for them, students described Scott's depth of knowledge, his careful and detailed preparation, the quality of the materials being presented and the importance and relevance of the issues being discussed. What makes Scott's teaching so powerful is a compelling blend of style and substance."

Nancy Hooyman, dean of the School of Social Work adds:

"In addition to the teaching excellence Scott has demonstrated in each of the classes, it is worth noting that the breadth of courses Scott has taught is highly unusual for a doctoral student. Such depth and breadth in teaching speaks to Scott's committed engagement with important issues in our discipline, as well as his talent in translating his own intellectual and professional engagement into exciting learning endeavors for students."

As Harding gets ready to further hone his teaching skills at Kansas in the fall, he reflected on his experience at the UW.

"I have to work at teaching. I never felt like I could just roll out of bed and teach a class. The bottom line is that teaching is hard work, particularly in motivating students in things they are not interested in, such as social policy and history," he says. "The challenge is to show how social welfare policy has a daily impact on any group. I try to help students realize the importance of history because where we are today is a reflection of where we were.

"It is equally important for students to understand how social policies were formed and how we view poverty. The way we treat the less fortunate is the best indicator of the health of a society. With the levels of wealth we have in the United States, there is no reason why 40 million people live in poverty and others have day-to-day worries. It is important to know the history of social justice because inequalities and social injustice are the major problems we have as a society."

Joel Schwarz, News & Information

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