Prof. Astrid Weigert Receives Dean's Award for Excellence in Teaching

Please visit the Georgetown College news website for a detailed article on the award ceremony.

College Dean’s Excellence in Teaching Award Citation

for Astrid Weigert

(College Faculty Convocation, Georgetown University

January 23, 2014)

Embodying the Jesuit ideal of cura personalis through her extraordinary and inspiring devotion to her students, her tireless and creative contributions to the shaping of the undergraduate curriculum in the German Department, and her uncommon willingness to serve the broader university community, Astrid Weigert is well-deserving of the praise and affection she receives from students and colleagues alike.  In addition to possessing a superb command of her field of German language, literature and culture, her colleagues describe her as a “talented and caring teacher,” “an inspiration to all her fellow-teachers,” “a great colleague who never shies away from new projects, always ready to learn more and do more,” and “a truly inspiring teacher who embraces the academic and personal formation of students. . . with an irrepressible, infectious good humor.”

Another indication of her passion for the well-being of her students has been her participation in both the Doyle Faculty Fellows Program and the Engelhard Project for Life and Learning.  Her commitment to both of these initiatives involved redesigning courses in order to deepen her students’ appreciation of issues of diversity, otherness, and physical and emotional health.  In both programs, her commitment was praised and it was noted that she had “distinguished herself as someone who not only cares about teaching but is willing to think carefully about how best to teach.”

Over and above their superb numerical evaluations, the voices of her former students serve to confirm that Astrid is more than simply a good instructor. She also offers a rare and memorable willingness to go the extra mile on their behalf, to care about them as persons.  Descriptions of long conversations outside of class, hospital visits to ailing students, personal farewell gifts to the senior students in her “German Business Culture” course, and a genuine interest in student lives beyond the classroom are commonplace.  In the end, one student reported that in her years at Georgetown,  “I never encountered a professor more knowledgeable, prepared, or compassionate for her students. . . Professor Weigert is incredibly deserving of this recognition.”  

The Dean of Georgetown College is proud to recognize Professor Astrid Weigert, with the Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching.