Provost Lawrence Frank announced last month that Hamid Akbari is the recipient of the 2009 Audrey Reynolds Distinguished Teaching Award. The award will be formally presented at the December 2009 Commencement Ceremony.

Audrey Reynolds, professor emerita, linguistics, established this award to be given annually to a tenured member of the Northeastern faculty who best demonstrates distinguished teaching.

Of this year's nominees, a seven-member NEIU committee selected four finalists after careful consideration of nomination letters submitted by their colleagues and other members of the Northeastern community. The finalists were Hamid Akbari, management and marketing; Shelley Bannister, justice studies and women's studies; Ellen Cannon, political science and women's studies; and Denise Cloonan-Cortez, foreign languages and literatures.

Frank said that all of the finalists demonstrated evidence of excellence in teaching, and in all the dossiers we found evidence of innovation, high standards, and a positive impact on students at the university. After careful review, the committee recommended Akbari as this year's recipient of the award.

As the Audrey Reynolds Distinguished Teaching Award recipient, Akbari will receive $5,000. He will make a presentation regarding teaching during the Spring 2010 semester.