Professors Par Excellence

Since it's near the eve of my graduation (only one quarter left!), I thought I'd take a moment to reflect on some of the professors I've had who left an impression on me. They're not listed in any particular order.

• Dean Tullsen - For CSE 140/141, the Digital System Design sequence. This course was fairly tough, given that it was hardware-level (as in machine-language programming) stuff. But Professor Tullsen demonstrated that he lives and breathes this stuff by presenting the material in an easy-to-absorb format, and accurately and concisely answering students' questions. It's hard not to share his enthusiasm; he turned a potentially terrifying class into an interesting one.
• Jim Hollan - For COGS 120, Human-Computer Interaction. Jim's got kind of a quirky sense of humor that I can appreciate, as well as a real enthusiasm for his field. His lectures are always interesting and entertaining, and he always seems so damned energized. Hollan is one of the professors that has inspired me to consider teaching.
• José Jara - for ENGL 202, Critical Thinking and Writing (at Mira Costa). A lot of people that took Jara's class didn't like it, because his grading scheme was based partly on how many pieces of writing you submitted throughout the year. Thus you really had to earn that good grade, because credit wasn't automatic; you only got credit for a paper after it shows sufficient polish, detail, and overall style. Credit was unlikely to happen on the first submission. He's a fascinating guy because no matter what your topic is, he knows enough about it to give you advice on making your paper better. It was a good deal of work, but my writing and editing skills improved more from Jara's class than any other writing instruction I've had.
• Farrell Ackerman - For LIGN (general linguistics) 176, The Language of Politics and Advertising. Ackerman is a kooky guy; that's about the best word I can think of to describe him. I really enjoyed his lecturing style in the class that I took. I personally think this class should be a part of the core curriculum at UCSD, because its implications for everyone's lives are so profound. Ackerman, again, showed that he is an expert in his field, and seemed to have total command of virtually all things linguistic. The assignments and readings were compelling and really helped to foster understanding of the topics. This is one of my most favorite classes ever. Ackerman is another professor that inspired me to give back to education.

I'm sure there are others, but these few are, apparently, the really standout examples. Nice work!