Professor Karen Gross Named Teacher of the Year
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Lewis & Clark’s Pamplin Society of Fellows has named Associate Professor of English Karen Gross the 2019 Teacher of the Year. Gross, who specializes in medieval literature, has been at Lewis & Clark since 2005. She holds a master’s degree from Cambridge University and PhD from Stanford University.
Created in 1994, the Teacher of the Year award honors faculty members who go above and beyond to enhance students’ learning experience both within and beyond the classroom. Winners are selected annually by a committee of Pamplin Society fellows from nominations the society collects from the student body.
Gross, a prolific scholar and author, has also contributed to Lewis & Clark and the lives of her students as the leader of two overseas study programs, and as fellowships advisor for the college, providing guidance and support to students seeking information about national grants and awards. Katie Kowal BA ’17, recently named a Rhodes Scholar, thanked Gross personally for her counsel. In 2008, Gross was recognized with the Graves Award for humanities teaching excellence.
“There’s enjoying a subject, and there’s allowing the warmth of it to bleed into and define the practice of teaching,” said Tian-Ai Aldridge BA ’19, who presented the Teacher of the Year award. “I’m so inspired by all the work we do together and all the journeying we do together, in our studies and in our art,” said Gross. “This means so much.”
