Rider Honors Two Faculty Members for Teaching Excellence

Robert J. Lackie of Lawrenceville, assistant professor-librarian, and Dr. Jonathan Yavelow of West Trenton, professor of biology, received the Rider University awards for Distinguished Teaching at the University’s 139th 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.

Robert J. Lackie

Lackie came to Rider in 1998 and currently holds the rank of assistant professor II – librarian at Moore Library.  He received degrees in Master of Library and Information Science from the University of South Carolina and an MA in Curriculum, Instruction, and Supervision from Rider University.
       “I can think of no more critical skill to learn in order to locate appropriate information on the Internet without the constant assistance of a librarian, said Dr. Phyllis Frakt, vice president of academic affairs and provost. “Robert’s broad expertise, enthusiasm, and love of students contribute to the success of his library instruction on proper research techniques.”
     While at Rider, Lackie has served as faculty-member-in-residence in Ziegler Residence Hall, along with his wife Renee, son Chris – and their officially tolerated cat Thomas.  The Lackie family supported the academic and social adjustment of Ziegler’s freshman students, sustaining a schedule that extended round the clock and through every day of the week for four years.
     Lackie’s passion for students and his tireless, enthusiastic, and skillful library presentations were recognized last month, when he was presented the New Jersey Library Association’s Librarian of the Year Award.  As one of his student-nominators explained, Robert Lackie has earned our recognition “for his personality, his availability, and for being the best librarian-teacher ever.”

Dr. Jonathan Yavelow

For 22 years, Dr. Yavelow has been inspiring biology students through his artful combination of a master-scientist’s knowledge with a contagious sense of humor. 
     He holds the rank of Professor in the department of biology, specializing in the field of cellular and molecular biology.  He arrived at Rider in 1982, having earned his Ph.D. in cellular and molecular biology from USC and having conducted post-doctoral work in the Biochemical Toxicology Laboratory at NYU’s Medical Center. 
     “To quote a student who nominated him,” said Dr. Frakt, “Dr. Yavelow ‘teaches tons of information, but still makes the class interesting by having fun.’ He is Rider’s own mad scientist.”
     Yavelow’s work at Rider has been a balance between highly sophisticated cancer research and inspiring teaching of undergraduates in the classroom and lab.  His research has been funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health, the New Jersey State Commission for Cancer Research, the Fannie E. Rippel Foundation and other competitive sources.
     Over the years, Yavelow has afforded generations of Rider undergraduates the extraordinary opportunity of working with a first rate scientist on projects of national and international significance, involving the compelling challenge of breast cancer. He is one of many Rider science faculty whose work with undergraduates enables us to proclaim undergraduate involvement with faculty research as a distinctive characteristic of our educational program.
     One of the many students who nominated Dr. Yavelow captures in four concise words the essence of a great teacher.  The student wrote:  “This man has passion.”

Return to Newswire