Salas Earns Sarofim Teaching Award for Excellence

The most rewarding aspect of teaching is making the occasional
connection with a student, said Marcela Salas, lecturer
of Spanish.
“What I like best about teaching are the rare moments
when something special happens between the teacher and the
student,” she said. “In those moments, there is
a flow of enlightenment, trust and passion (in both directions)
that makes teaching a very unique experience.”

The recipient of the second Sarofim Teaching Award for Excellence,
Salas said her goal in teaching advanced Spanish is for
her students never to feel embarrassed or uncomfortable
expressing themselves in the language.

The award was created with support from Rice endowment manager
Fayez Sarofim and is given to a lecturer in the School of
Humanities who has shown exceptional professionalism and
dedication to students.

“Marcela Salas is one of our very best language teachers,
responsible for many curricular innovations and their implementation,”
said Gale Stokes, dean of the School of Humanities. “These
include a successful Foreign Language Across the Curriculum
(FLAC) course, internships, the development of Spanish theater
and advising. She is an inspiration to our entire group
of highly capable language lecturers.”

Salas considers herself lucky to have won the award.
“An award is a magic wand that touches one,” she
said. “This time it touched me, and I am very happy.
Teaching is a poorly rewarded career. The main rewards usually
come from students.”

Teaching about cultural diversity and sharing her beliefs
about its importance and relevance play a large role in
inspiring her teaching, said Salas.