New Alumnus-Sponsored Award Recognizes Teachers

TEACHING MOMENT: Elizabeth Cleary O’Hara ’72 (right), a Syracuse teacher, was one of four inaugural recipients of the Singer Family Prize for Excellence in Secondary School Teaching, a new award funded by Paul Singer ’66 to recognize influential teachers. O’Hara was nominated by Alexandra (Sasha) Bilow ’07 (center) and received the award from Richard Feldman, dean of the College.

A Rochester alumna who has been teaching for 35 years is one of the first recipients of a new University-administered, alumnus-sponsored award to recognize the work that she and other teachers do in the classroom.

Elizabeth Cleary O’Hara ’72, a French teacher at Westhill High School in Syracuse, received an inaugural Singer Family Prize for Excellence in Secondary School Teaching, an award funded by Paul Singer ’66 as a way to pay tribute to influential high school teachers.

A total of four teachers received awards, selected from about 30 nominations made by students in the graduating Class of 2007. O’Hara, who was nominated by Alexandra (Sasha) Bilow ’07, was recognized for her ability to motivate students and to capture students’ attention through her multilayered use of technology.

Other winners included Michael Haugh, an English teacher at Aquinas Institute in Rochester; Jason Byrd from Nathan Hale High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma; and John McLaughlin from Souderton Area High School in Souderton, Pennsylvania.

Richard Feldman, dean of the College, says all the teachers were deserving of recognition.

“The humility they expressed in their letters was very touching,” Feldman says. “They were honored by the personal recognition, but even more enthusiastic about the appreciation for secondary school educators.”

The winning teachers were honored at a newly instituted ceremony held during Commencement weekend. Each teacher receives a $3,000 award, and each teacher’s school receives a $2,500 award.