Instructor recognized for teaching excellence speaks at December commencement
Keenan was awarded an Excellence in Teaching Award for 2016.
Tanya Keenan. Photo courtesy of Mount Mary University.
MILWAUKEE (November 18, 2016) – Tanya Keenan, a Mount Mary University instructor who excels at engaging students in core English composition classes, has been named the faculty commencement speaker for Mount Mary’s winter graduation on Saturday, Dec. 17.
At the beginning of this semester, Keenan was also awarded an Excellence in Teaching Award for 2016. Mount Mary awards Excellence in Teaching Awards every year to a full-time and a part-time faculty member. These faculty members show dedication and enthusiasm for helping students grow personally and academically, use innovative teaching techniques and have knowledge of research and trends in their specific academic fields.
Karen Friedlen, Dean of Academic Affairs, said, “She (Keenan) challenges students in ways that get them thinking more deeply about issues. She creates interest and life out of content that others may consider rote or technical.”
Keenan has been an adjunct instructor Mount Mary since September 2011. She currently teaches English composition classes, which are a requirement for all undergraduate students to take. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in secondary education with a concentration in English 9-12 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a master’s degree in humanities with a concentration in American studies from the University of Chicago. Her master thesis was on Whole Language versus Direct Instruction for Students of Color in K-12 Education.
“She (Keenan) is caring and loving toward everyone she touches,” Friedlen said.
Mount Mary University is an urban Catholic university committed to social justice and the development of the whole person. Founded in 1913 by the School Sisters of Notre Dame, we were the first four-year, degree-granting Catholic institution for women in Wisconsin. Today we serve a minority-majority population and offer more than 30 undergraduate majors for women and nine graduate programs for women and men in four schools: Arts & Design, Humanities, Social Sciences & Education, Natural & Health Sciences and Business. Mount Mary creates bold women who transform the world. #HerestotheBold
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.
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