Regional Winner
Month: March 2012

NACURH, INC.

Institution Faculty/Staff of the Month

School: Truman State University Region: MACURH
Nominee: Donald Krause Nominator: Kelsey Smith

On-Campus Population: 2900 Chapter Size: 29

Please explain the outstanding contributions of the nominee during the month of nomination

Donald Krause is currently a communication professor here at Truman, and it his actual job as a professor that is one of the reasons he is nominated for this award. He is an outstanding educator. Before coming to Truman, he worked in the world of media, which has allowed him to bring real life experiences to the classroom. Rather than lecturing at the students for a full period, he brings them into the subject matter, allowing them to explore the class in a more full way. He also keeps his schedules extremely flexible, allowing for change if necessary. This is important because it allows his classes to have full discussions, rather than cutting things short because we have to stick to a schedule. However, he is not a push over and doesn't allow his students to take advantage of his kindness. This is an advantage because it pushes the students to continue working their hardest. But Professor Krause isn't just awesome because he rocks at teaching. He also works hard outside of the classroom to ensure all his students have a great experience while at Truman. For example, he created a Twitter account to show the communication students the importance of Social Media, rather than just preaching at them. He uses the account to have contact with students outside of class, and to extend classroom learning to real world events, tweeting about events that relate to what you might be learning about that week. He also works hard to be a source of advice. In all of his classes, he devotes at least a full day to "career building." He gives out packets chock full of helpful hints when applying for internships, jobs, or grad schools, out of the box places to look for experience, and interview and resume tips. He makes sure to allow everyone time to ask questions and to practice skills like networking. He also serves as the advisor for the on campus newspaper, the Index, and helps students become part of different on campus media sources, which is important if you plan on going into any kind of media in the real world. Finally, Professor Krause is completely devoted to his students. He was selected as the Communication Faculty member of the year last year, proving his excellence. He never stops working for students, and often pulls long hours to help them out in the lab. If a student needs help on something, he will think nothing of staying up late or rearranging his own schedule in order to assure he can help them out.

Word Count: 429


Date of entry into database: 2012-03-28 18:09:09

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