Joan Strassman Receives Julia Mile Chance Prize

Joan Strassmann Receives Julia Mile Chance Prize

By Philip Montgomery
Rice News Staff

For three weeks one of Joan Strassmann’s students in her spring animal
behavior lab struggled to understand why male grackles, those black-colored
birds with the whistle-squawk songs, looked up at the sky.

Eventually, the student figured out what Strassmann, a professor of
ecology and evolutionary biology, had known all along. The male grackles
were not looking at the sky; they were doing a dominance dance.

“I don’t like to get up in front of the room and tell students how it
is,” Strassmann said. “I’d rather spread everything out and let them figure
it out for themselves. That way they learn the material and how to make
scientific inferences, and they retain it forever. To me, what is fun about
research is the discovery. What I try to do is not just tell the students
what we found out, but let them discover the things.”

Strassmann, a respected and well-published researcher on the topic of
wasp social evolution, was chosen to receive the 1997 Julia Mile Chance
Prize for Excellence in Teaching.

The Commission on Women, through the Provost’s Office, awards the Chance
Prize to an associate or full professor at Rice who provides students with
intellectual challenge and inspiration in his or her field of study, shows
extraordinary dedication to students’ professional development and
advancement, and enhances gender sensitive leadership on campus. The
nominations are based upon recommendations from undergraduate and graduate
students and alumni, teaching evaluations and other materials.

Jane Chance, professor of English, established the Julia Mile Chance
Prize for Excellence in Teaching at Rice in memory of her mother, Julia Mile
Chance.

Student comments to the Women’s Commission included statements about
Strassmann’s challenging courses, innovative use of video and Web sites, and
her “good-spir-itedness.”

One student wrote, “I learned much more in this class and will retain better
what I’ve learned because I had to be an active participant in the course
each day.”

Another student expressed surprise at the course and wrote, “I was prepared
not to like this class at all. I was very surprised when it became one of my
favorite classes.”

In a letter to Rice’s Women’s Commission, Ron Sass, chair of the
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, wrote, “The department
agrees with the students that she, because of her dedication to her
teaching, the many extra hours she spends with students, and the novel
methods she has developed, is worthy of our highest commendation.”

Strassmann also participates in a journal club for undergraduates,
graduate students and post-docs. The club fosters critical reading of
scientific papers. In addition, she works closely with students on
independent scientific projects.

Strassmann, who mainly studies social wasps, will spend the summer in
Italy and Venezuela researching wasp behavior and teaching.