2020 Loser-Savkar Fellow Announced
The Loser-Savkar Faculty Professional Development Fellowship Committee is very pleased to announce the 2020 Loser-Savkar Fellow – Catherine Gaiser, Associate Professor of English, Annandale Campus. Professor Gaiser requested support from the Loser-Savkar Faculty Professional Development Fellowship to explore and incorporate into her teaching the principles of self-authorship and meaning-making based on the works of Dr. Marcia Baxter Magolda and Dr. Patrick Manning. These scholars demonstrate that cultivating self-authorship (Magolda) and meaning-making (Manning) can mitigate the effects of anxiety. Professor Gaiser plans to apply what she learns by assigning self-reflective activities where students chronicle, examine and accept the evolution of their ideas and gain confidence in their inner voices.
Professor Gaiser earned her MFA from George Mason University, where she concentrated on creative non-fiction. After four years as adjunct faculty, Professor Gaiser joined NOVA’s English Department in 2014 as a full-time instructor. Her professional interests include helping students locate, understand and evaluate information that will inform, but not replace, their own beliefs.
The $1,000 Loser-Savkar Faculty Professional Development Fellowship was established by Reva A. Savkar and Robert C. Loser to promote better faculty teaching and student learning. Professor Savkar and Professor Loser hold emeriti status at NOVA. Professor Savkar is a pioneer in online teaching, developed the first online college chemistry courses in the United States, and received the 2013 VCCS Chancellor’s Award for Teaching Excellence. Professor Loser is a pioneer in NOVA’s use of online technologies, teaching strategies, and course design, and received the 2014 NOVA Presidential Sabbatical Award.
The call for proposals for the 2021 Loser-Savkar Faculty Professional Development Fellowship will open in Fall 2020. For more information about the founders, visit the Loser-Savkar Faculty Professional Development Fellowship website.