Dr. Aaron Lawler
Dr. Aaron Lawler, Assistant Professor of Humanities, has been selected as Waubonsee’s 2020 Outstanding Faculty Member. Lawler began teaching at Waubonsee as and adjunct faculty member in 2012 and has served as a full-time Humanities instructor at Waubonsee since 2015.
Lawler uses a wide variety of approaches to develop students’ creativity, critical thinking, writing skills, and self-reflection.
“I am hopeful that we [educators] can make our community the kind of place where we can combat ignorance, take intellectual risks, and champion the cause of civilizing in an uncivilized world,” said Lawler in his nomination response.
In addition to teaching and conducting his own research, Lawler serves as an advisor to Phi Theta Kappa, Alpha Sigma Lambda, and Students for a Diverse Society. He serves on the college’s Cares/Food Insecurity Committee and the Text Book Affordability Task Force. Lawler has also developed a proposal for a Potawatomi Cultural Symposium. In 2019, he created and instructed a new course at Waubonsee; HUM202: Current Trends in Digital Humanities. He also gave a presentation called “Global Optimist” as part of Waubonsee’s Faculty Speaker Series. He wrote “Studying Humanities Today” as part of the college’s Waubonsee Voices series. He has given presentations on topics such as leadership, assessment, learning strategies, and writing at events outside of the college.
Lawler earned a B.A. in Illustration and K-12 Education at North Central College, a M.A. in Interdisciplinary Humanities at North Central College, a M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction at Concordia University, and he recently defended his dissertation titled “The Cult of Ignorance: A Visual Inquiry into Anti-Intellectualism in American Culture.” With that dissertation defense, Lawler earned his Ph.D. in Educational Philosophy at Concordia University.
Lawler will be recognized and presented the Outstanding Faculty Member Award at a faculty event later this year.
The Outstanding Faculty Member Award is presented to a full-time faculty member who has distinguished him or herself. The final selection is made by the college’s Outstanding Faculty Member Selection Committee, which is comprised of previous recipients of the award, instructional deans, the Assistant Vice President of Educational Workforce Development, and the Dean for Student Success and Retention. The committee is chaired by the Vice President of Educational Affairs.
