FEATURES
Stewart Awards honor faculty, staff for excellence
7
February 4, 2011
By Meg Holden
Staff Writer
Though the weather doesn't seem to
agree, spring is approaching, and with it
comes the season of celebrating the people
who make Guilford great. The Bruce B.
Stewart Teaching and Community Service
Awards annually recognize two faculty
members — one tenured and one non-ten-
ured — and one staff member who make a
difference in our community.
The Stewart Awards are named in honor
of Bruce Stewart '60, who served Guilford
in a number of positions, including assis
tant professor of education, provost, act
ing president, and chair of the Board of
Trustees, according to the Guilford web
site. Stewart is a current trustee emeritus.
According to Joyce Eaton, executive
assistant to the president, the awards
began in 2006, using a fund established by
Bill Soles '81 and Jan Soles Nelson '87. Each
Stewart Award, presented by President
and Professor of Political Science Kent
Chabotar in a ceremony every spring, is
accompanied by a $5,000 gift.
"The Soles wanted to recognize Bruce
and everything he did for Guilford," said
Chabotar. "The school wanted to recognize
excellence among the faculty and staff, and
Bruce was always an advocate for excel
lence, so the two ideas came together at just
the right moment."
According to Chabotar, the Stewart
Awards address a need that had previously
been insufficiently met at Guilford — the
need to express thanks.
"It's a continuing challenge to show
appreciation," said Chabotar. "The Stewart
Awards turn our attention to (the winners)
and say, 'Thank you, job well done.'"
Nominations for the Stewart Awards
come from many sources within the
Guilford community, according to Eaton.
Students, faculty, staff, alumni and even
parents can and have submitted nomina
tions.
There are three Stewart Awards, includ
ing two teaching awards and one commu
nity service award. The teaching award
nominations are reviewed by a committee
of faculty and students, and the communi
ty service award nominations are reviewed
by a committee of staff and students.
Eaton said that the committees narrow
the selection down to two recipients and an
alternate for each award. The committees
make a recommendation to Chabotar, who
is responsible for choosing the final recipi
ent of each award.
"I've never turned down a recommenda-^
tion," said Chabotar. "I've been given two
choices and had to choose between them."
While a committee can suggest to the
President that the awards not be given,
this has never happened, according to'
Chabotar.
Assistant Professor of Physics Donald
Smith received a Steward Award for non-
tenured faculty in 2009.
"The best part was knowing who the
previous winners were, because they were
all people I admire," said Smith. "It is an
honor to be on that list."
Other previous winners include: tenured
professors Vance Ricks, Frank Keegan, Jeff
Jeske, Robert G. Williams and Carolyn
Beard Whitlow; non-tenured professors
Heather Hayton, David Newton, Eric
Mortensen, and Maria Rosales; and staff
members Teresa Sanford, Terry Hammond,
Norma Middleton, Lynn Van Horn and
Tammy Martin.
"The awards don't ignore the staff,
which is important," said Smith. "It shows
that we are all one community."
Community is the message, according to
Chabotar.
"The awards celebrate two Guilford
strengths," said Chabotar. "Our excellent
teaching and our excellent service to the
community."
Nominations for the 2011 Bruce B.
Stewart Awards are now being accepted in
the Office of the President.
By Kylie Gilliams
Staff Writer
A person's space often reflects the occupant's personal
ity and passions. For Continuing Part-time Lecturer in Art
Charlie Tefft '97, this rings especially true; shelves of mugs,
teapots and jars line the walls of his office, while books
about clay and ceramics tools pile up on chairs.
Tefft, Guilford's ceramics guru, didn't grow up dream
ing of being a potter and a professor. Like many children,
he dreamt of becoming a veterinarian. However, life had
other ideas for him.
"At some point between my first year of first grade and
my second year of first grade, I was tested, and my parents
found out I was dyslexic," Tefft said. "I ended up going to
a school that had a program for dyslexic students."
This school introduced Tefft to working with clay, but
he did not develop a keen interest in ceramics until later.
"One day in sixth grade — I was probably 12 or 13 — I
came into that clay studio and there was a tabletop wheel
there," Tefft said. "I thought, 'I want to learn that.'"
Tefft continued making, pots in high school. As part of
an SAT prep course, he took a t65t which matches a person
with possible careers.
"I got helicopter pilot, craftsperson or academic," Tefft
said. "I heard from so many people that it was hard to
make a living (as a craftsperson); I thought, 'I don't want to
do that.' Academic, I thought, 'How in the world?' Being
dyslexic, being in academia seemed like torture to me ...
Here I am, sort of in both of those fields."
After high school, Tefft attended Guilford as a student,
but didn't initially decide to focus on art. He soon changed
his mind.
"I took a clay class first semester sophomore year, and
at some point over that semester, I realized there wasn't
anything in school that I was going to work harder at,"
said Tefft. "It came naturally. It wasn't for a grade; it wasn't
because someone was telling me to do it."
Throughout his high school and college careers, he also
played team sports.
"I knew Charlie as a very gifted athlete," said Mark
Dixon '96, part-time lecturer in art and former classmate
of Tefft's. "Every time we played soccer, he left us in the
dust."
After graduation, Tefft moved to Atlanta to make pots
full-time. After almost two years, he came back to Guilford
to fill in as the ceramics professor, which ended up being a
long-term position, although he originally intended to only
stay for five years.
"Over that five years, though, I spent so much time
rebuilding the program, rebuilding kilns and building
new kilns," he said. "You start having ceramics majors and
having relationships with them and you think, 'I can't just
leave in their junior year.'"
I didn't have to look far to see the evidence of Tefft's
hands-on dedication to his students. As I left the studio, he
walked over to a student working with a small ball of clay.
"Okay, now get that spinning on the wheel," Tefft said as
he reached over, dipped his hands in slip and guided her
hands over the swiftly-whirling clay.
(Top left and right) Charlie Tefft, continuing part-time lec
turer in art, lends a hand to a student in the ceramics studio,
(Above) Tefft, front left, with h(s family before his clay calling.