The
Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures was
awarded the LSA Student Government's 2004 Departmental
Excellence Award, awarded each year to one LSA department
on the basis of student nominations and surveys. The
department also won this award in 2002! Here are some
of the student comments on which the 2004 award was
based:
"The
German department has several OUTSTANDING professors
that have gone out of their way, beyond any job description
to help me, direct me and find opportunities for me
to excel in the language. I’ve found the MOST
influential people in my college career in this department—it
is outstanding!"
"The
German dept. is great! Everyone is so nice, and being
a German major allows you to get to know the staff on
such a personal level."
"The
professors are dedicated and enthusiastic and have an
excellent grasp of their subject."
"The
German department is by far the best department I have
worked with here at U of M. I am a transfer student
and have a lot of experience interacting with faculty
and staff at other universities, so I feel I have a
good basis for comparison and I think the German department
here ranks up there with the best. As far as instructors
go, Professor Federhofer in the German department is
the best instructor I have had the pleasure of learning
from here at U of M and I look forward to taking another
class taught by him in the future."
"I
love German!"
"The
German department is honestly incredible. Every professor
I’ve ever had has been so helpful and has done
everything in his or her power to see me succeed and
improve my German skills. The German department really
focuses on improvement and everyone in the department
is amazing."
"The
professors are quite accessible, my professors have
always held more opportunities for students to come
into their office than any other professors from any
other department. Janet Van Valkenburg, for example,
sets aside 9 hours of her week for her students to discuss
any aspects of the course. That is much better than
the 1 hour period
offered by most other professors."
"I
have praised the German department since I took German
231 my first semester freshman year. As a senior, I
believe that taking German courses at this University
has been the best decision that I have made as a student.
The members of this department have time after time
far surpassed my expectations. They even found me an
internship abroad!! When a few of my friends asked me
which language they should take to fulfill their language
requirement, I told them about the German Department.
All three of my friends have not only taken the courses
to complete their requirement, they have all gone on
to take more classes through this department due to
the positive experiences they had. Not only have the
professors been amazing teachers, but amazing mentors
and friends. They inspire me to no end. I am happy to
say that not only has the German department allowed
me to become fluent in a foreign language, but has allowed
me to develop into a graduate with a job, a future,
and a positive attitude. Please give the German Department
this award, for it is quite deserved." |