Faculty, staff and students erupted with applause across the Center for the Arts as Honors College Dean Zofia Burr accepted the 2019 David J. King Teaching Excellence Award on Monday, April 15th. This award is given at the annual Mason Teaching Excellence Ceremony to a faculty member who has made outstanding, lasting impacts on educational excellence at Mason.
From building courses about African-American poetry and women’s participation in paid and unpaid labor, to earning a 2004 Mason Teaching Excellence award, to helping design the initial Honors College curriculum, Dean Burr’s selfless dedication to student success shines bright.
Portrait of Dean Zofia Burr on University Day 2018. Photo by Ron Aira/Creative Services/George Mason University.
“But none of that was enough [for Dean Burr],” said Kimberly K. Eby, Associate Provost of Faculty Affairs and Development, who spoke of Dean Burr’s numerous university contributions before presenting her with the award.
Appointed as Honors Program director in 2006, Dean Burr helped transition ‘Honors’ from a program to its inception as a college in 2009. Developing inclusive learning environments and equitable learning spaces, Dean Burr has played a significant role in diversifying the Honors College student body.
“[Dean Burr] has doubled the number of first-generation students, doubled the number of science students, more than doubled the number of engineering students, …” recounted Associate Provost Eby, “… and tripled the number of students of color in the Honors College.”
Passionate about immersing students in the study of powerful texts, Dean Burr has created unique curricula that challenges undergraduates from all backgrounds to ask: “Real and important questions as we engage in the messy process of discovery.”
“I think among our greatest privileges and responsibilities is asking such real questions, ... questions through which we are willing to have our minds changed by what we learn.”
Dean Zofia Burr
Dean Burr credited countless faculty for enriching her personal and professional development throughout her career at Mason. Among those she recognized were the late Lorraine Brown, professor emerita of English and Theater, who passed away in February 2010. According to Dean Burr, Dr. Brown was “instrumental in helping [her] ask those real questions.”
Alongside colleagues like Honors College Associate Dean Dr. Jan Allbeck, who was recognized at Monday’s ceremony for completing the Course ReDesign Academy, Dean Burr contributed to the Honors College’s newly improved curriculum. The redesigned program of study emphasizes experiential learning opportunities, community engagement and the development of multiple perspectives.
Dean Burr speaking at the 2019 Mason Teaching Excellence Awards. (Left to right: Dean Burr; S. David Wu, Provost and Executive Vice President; Kimberly K. Eby, Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs and Development)
“That is the kind of work that we need to do as a university,” says Dean Burr, whose research focuses on African American literature and the reception of modern American poetry. “And that’s the kind of work that we have started to do … in the Honors College.”
While speaking with Honors College students at this year’s Spring Preview, Dean Burr experienced a strong sense of joy, reflecting positively on her students’ commitment to leadership, selfless service, and initiative to succeed.
“We’re doing it. We’re educating the kind of young people who will be able to work together across differences, to solve the problems that we are facing now, and in the future,” said Dean Burr, speaking to a room full of inspired colleagues, faculty, students and friends. “And in the moments where I see our students really realizing that possibility, it’s enormously gratifying.”
Original reporting by Jimmy O'Hara