Last modified: Friday, March 20, 2009
Carol Hostetter
Distinguished Teaching Award
Associate Professor
School of Social Work
Indiana University Bloomington
Appointed to IU faculty, 1979
B.A., Indiana University, 1975
M.S.W., Indiana University, 1977
Ph.D., Indiana University, 1998
Carol Hostetter's fascination with Indiana University began as a little girl, listening to her father tell stories about experiences there before World War II. After she graduated from high school, she came to IU and discovered that the "magic" her father had talked about was still there.
She found her love of learning in the psychology department as an undergraduate and discovered a passion for teaching while earning her master's degree in sociology at Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis.
"Her quiet energy, sense of humor, and excitement about the subject, even subjects that undergraduates usually see as 'boring,' draw students in and engage them in the material," said Katharine V. Byers, director of the Bachelor of Social Work Program at IU Bloomington.
Hostetter has been teaching social work and sociology at IU Bloomington and the IUPUI campus since 1979. She strives to make her classroom an excellent learning environment and sets high standards for her students.
"As a teacher, she is wonderfully served by a unique and marvelous combination of exceptional listening skills and clear, linear, and helpful articulation," said Kand S McQueen, an assistant professor at Indiana State University who earned her Ph.D. in education at IU. "Her combination of talents is a rare and incalculable asset for her students."
Andrea Schaefer, a former student, believes her personal examples in class connected with her and encouraged her to find a way to continue in her footsteps.
"She has impacted lives, added to data bases, and fosters the student's touch on making a difference in the world upon graduation," said Schaefer. "She allowed me to grow not only academically, but strengthened my beliefs and accreditation in social justice."
Hostetter says teaching inspires her to learn more, and it makes her realize how much she still doesn't know. She is, in fact, an accomplished researcher on the scholarship of teaching and has made 30 presentations on the scholarship of teaching and learning, and published numerous articles on the subject. She is also the author of a number of articles on her research in social work and has made presentations at national conferences. She's been awarded several prestigious research grants, including two from the Office of the Vice Provost for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculties; a grant to evaluate the effectiveness of the state of Indiana's training program for child welfare workers; and a grant on Determining the Educational Needs of Child Welfare Case Managers at the Division of Family and Children.
Along with her research, Hostetter has been a leader in the scholarship of teaching community and won several teaching awards. Since 2005, she has served as director of the Mack Center for the Advanced Inquiry in Teaching and Learning and was recently named the program co-chair for the annual meeting of the International Society of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (ISSOTL) for 2009. Her presentations at ISSOTL conferences have won the Registration Award three years in a row, and in 2007 was she honored with the Presidents' Plenary Speaker award.
But it's her teaching that has set her apart. Hostetter is the only person in the School of Social work to win the Trustees' Teaching Award three times, and in 1997 she earned IU's Lieber Memorial Teaching Associate Award.
"Her scholarship and research agenda support the skillfulness she exhibits in the classroom and the role she plays in her school and profession," said Margo Sorgman, professor of education at IU. "At a time when universities are asked to make applications to the community, Carol has a body of work that demonstrates that."
Brian Powell, James H. Rudy Professor and co-director of the Preparing Future Faculty Program at IU, sums up Hostetter's exceptional combination of talents.
"Some professors are great in the classroom, and some professors are great scholars. Being both is rare, and even uncommon is a great teacher who does great scholarship on teaching," said Powell. "Professor Hostetter is extraordinary -- someone who provides a compelling role model to the rest of us."
