With Loyola University Chicago\u2019s Weekend of Excellence behind us, it is with great pride and joy that I write that all of Loyola\u2019s full-time faculty members have won excellence awards, along with senior dance major, Kelsee Simons, and student organization, The Dance Company. Further details on the awards can be found towards the bottom of this post.<\/p>\n
As students and dancers, the members of LDT would like to thank Sandra Kaufmann, Sarah Cullen Fuller and Amy Wilkinson\u2014and the rest of the dance faculty\u2014for their dedication to dance at Loyola.<\/p>\n
Without Kaufmann, there would be no dance program and no Loyola Dance Theatre. Because of Kaufmann\u2019s work on the curriculum and mission of the dance program, the growing number of dance majors are able to double major while receiving conservatory-level training. Every day we are inspired by her artistic spirit and quest for knowledge and academic discovery.<\/p>\n
Cullen Fuller and Wilkinson volunteer their time, effort and energy constantly throughout the year to provide LDT with as many performance opportunities as possible. This year alone, Cullen Fuller piloted the senior dance showcase\u2014guiding graduating seniors through finding professional choreographers to set solos on them, choreographing a group piece, and guiding the production of the performances.<\/p>\n
Wilkinson most recently choreographed a piece in collaboration with the University Chorale and the Institute of Environmental Sustainability that was performed at Loyola\u2019s annual Climate Change Conference.<\/p>\n
Members of LDT have participated in a dance-research project in Vietnam, In\/Motion<\/em> (Loyola\u2019s Dance Film Festival), collaborative performances at LUMA and numerous professional workshops outside of Loyola\u2019s campus, most recently including a Crystal Pite choreographic workshop hosted by Hubbard Street Dance Chicago.<\/p>\n All three full-time faculty members live the values of a Jesuit education through their dedication to their students inside and outside of class, their emphasis on the Jesuit value of cura personalis in their approaches to teaching class, and their constant challenges for us to excel\u2014not only as students but also as professionals entering the arts community. For Cullen Fuller, Kaufmann and Wilkinson, dance is more than an athletic pastime: it is an art form, road to knowledge and scholarship, and means of communication.<\/p>\n We as dance majors and members of LDT have been and are being transformed by our experience at Loyola. With the opportunity to interact with Cullen Fuller, Kaufmann and Wilkinson almost every day of our undergraduate education, we are growing as individuals with a passion for dance as a vessel for communication and education and as a means to spread social justice and Jesuit values.<\/p>\n For all the work that the three of you put into this dance program and for all of the time that you have volunteered to provide us with the best dance education possible, we say: Thank you.<\/p>\n The awards:<\/p>\n Sujak Award for Teaching Excellence: Sandra Kaufmann<\/strong><\/p>\n Every year the Edwin T. and Vivijeanne F. Sujak Award for Teaching Excellence is given to two faculty members within the College of Arts and Sciences. According to Loyola\u2019s website, recipients of the award \u201cembody the Jesuit ideal of higher education in their dedication to high standards, to critical thinking, and to the principle that knowledge must be put to the benefit of humanity.\u201d Kaufmann was first nominated by students and then underwent a two-step process that involved submitting coursework information, including all evaluations, and writing and submitting a teaching philosophy.<\/p>\n Faculty Member of the Year Award: Sandra Kaufmann<\/strong><\/p>\n This award is given to one faculty member every year. The recipient of the award is determined by student nominations.<\/p>\n Transformative Education Award: Sarah Cullen Fuller<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n