May 13 - Rider Honors Two Faculty Members for Teacher Excellence

Dr. Diane Casale-Giannola of Plainsboro, assistant of teacher education, and Dr. Elizabeth Haywood-Sullivan of Yardley, PA, assistant professor of accounting, received the Rider University awards for Distinguished Teaching at the University’s 140th Commencement. The awards have been presented annually since 1961. 

The two faculty members, nominated by their colleagues and students and judged by the University Honors Council, have been cited as among Rider’s most talented, effective and dedicated teachers.

Dr. Diane Casale-Giannola

After Dr. Diane Casale-Giannola received a Master degree in special education from the State University of New York at Albany in 1986, she compiled an impressive record of experience as a high school and middle school educator.  She served as a special education teacher, special needs coordinator, and principal in several boroughs of New York City and in Singapore.  She earned her doctorate in educational administration from New York University in 2000, and joined the Department of Teacher Education at Rider University as assistant professor I in 2002. Her application to the rank of assistant professor II was recently approved by the Rider University Board of Trustees.                                                                                                           

In addition to teaching special education courses, supervising student teachers, maintaining ongoing scholarly research, and assisting in the work of her department, Dr. Casale-Giannola actively contributes to the Rider Special Education Advisory Board and the Rider Student Council for Exceptional Children, the New Jersey Council for Exceptional Children and the New Jersey Coalition for Inclusive Education, and a national caucus of the Council for Exceptional Children. 

Most importantly, Dr. Casale-Giannola has earned the respect and admiration of her students.  Her student-nominators confirm that she is energetic and supportive and that her dedication extends beyond their expectations.  “Dr. Casale-Giannola lights up every room she walks into,” wrote one of her student-nominators.  And another wrote the tribute that every educator yearns to receive: “She is the best teacher I ever had.”

Dr. Elizabeth Haywood-Sullivan

Dr. Mary Elizabeth (Betsy) Haywood-Sullivan earned a Ph.D. in Accounting from the University of Georgia and is both a Certified Public Accountant and a Certified Management Accountant.  She came to the Rider University Department of Accounting in 2001, and in 2004 she was promoted to the rank of assistant professor II. 

Dr. Haywood-Sullivan is a versatile instructor.  She has taught courses at all levels of the curriculum from the Introduction to Business for freshmen to graduate courses for students in the Masters of Accountancy.  She models applied learning by demonstrating challenging accounting principles through real world examples that are accessible and amusing to her students. As examples, her nominators mentioned classroom analysis of the product costs of producing potato chips and baseballs.  Her courses, research, and campus activities also demonstrate Dr. Haywood-Sullivan’s commitment to high ethical standards in the practice and teaching of accounting.

Dr. Haywood-Sullivan’s students praise her love of teaching, her accessibility, and her genuine interest in student accomplishments.  They appreciate her assistance with numerous student accounting and leadership organizations, including the Accounting Society, the Student Chapter of the Institute of Management Accountants, and Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honor Society. One student wrote that “she is always willing to do anything possible to ensure the success of her students.”