Gruber exemplifies excellence in teaching

Gruber
exemplifies excellence in teaching
…………………………………………………………………

BY ELLEN Y.
CHANG
Rice News Staff

‘ History professor
Ira Gruber is a modest and self-effacing man, but he sometimes
lightens up his classes with humor and anecdotes. His former
students liked him so much that they selected him as the
2001 winner of the George R. Brown Prize for Excellence
in Teaching.

His rapport and
ability to make historical personages and issues come alive
is one of the many reasons that Stephen Aslett, a sophomore
majoring in history and philosophy, has taken two of Gruber’s
classes and has signed up for a third in the fall.

“He’s
always approachable outside of class to talk about whatever
subject, history-related or otherwise,” Aslett said.
“I’ve taken his classes just as much because of
the material as because of the fact that he teaches them.”

Gruber said
he was pleased but surprised at the news of the award.

“The truth
is, I was astounded,” he said. “I’m amazed.
I really did not expect to win a teaching award.”

Gruber was chosen
for the award by voting alumni who received four-year bachelor
degrees in 1996 and 1999. The $6,000 award is the most prestigious
teaching award at Rice.

Gruber, the
Harris Masterson Jr. Professor of History, has taught at
Rice for 35 years and teaches seminars on Thomas Jefferson,
Colonial America and the American Revolution and a lecture
class on warfare in the modern world. He received the George
R. Brown Award for Superior Teaching in 1974.

He looks forward
to working with students who continually surprise him with
their creative and reflective ideas and attitudes.

“Someone
in every class exceeds what you expect,” he said.

Gruber noted
that he enjoys constantly revamping the way he teaches his
classes because he always is learning new information to
pass along to his students.

One of the teaching
techniques that Gruber has found to be invaluable over time
is having his students read each other’s papers in
a small group setting.

Gruber said
the method allows students to get several readings and perspectives
of their papers and teaches them whether they are making
an effective and coherent argument.

“It can
be extremely intimidating to have your work read by other
students and then critiqued later in class when everyone
discusses the papers, but I have no doubt that it raises
the quality of the work dramatically,” Aslett said.

Gruber’s
teaching methods have impressed many of his colleagues,
including Allen Matusow, the William Gaines Twyman Professor
of History, and Richard Smith, the George and Nancy Rupp
Professor of Humanities and professor of history, who also
is director of Asian studies.

Gruber’s
method of teaching exemplifies the best of the historian’s
craft because he is careful and critical, but also creative,
Smith said. Gruber asks interesting questions and provides
stimulating answers to his students, he added.

“He has
all the qualities this prize is meant to reward,” Smith
said. “And above all, he cares about his students.”

His classes
also demand hours of reading books. But the reading is designed
so that students will draw out arguments from the books
and analyze the author’s point of view and sometimes
their hidden intentions, Gruber said.

Gary Garrett,
a graduate student in Southern environmental history who
has taken two of Gruber’s seminars, said he enjoys
reading the books.

“By the
time you’re through, you know the book,” he said.
“He is extremely gifted at taking a class through a
book.”

Aslett said students
feel comfortable expressing their own ideas that sometimes
are not in agreement with Gruber’s.

“He also
carries less ideological baggage than a lot of professors,
which certainly makes everyone feel more comfortable about
expressing their opinions,” he said. “He never
tries to push his own thoughts on anyone else.”

The ultimate
reward of teaching is working with students and interesting
material, Gruber said.

“At Rice,
there’s a lot to like about teaching,” he said.
“The students are inquisitive and often reflective.
They are usually multitalented. It’s a privilege to
have such good students.”