Michelle Kazmer (PhD '02) has received the 2014 Thomson Reuters Outstanding Information Science Teacher Award given by the Association for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T). Kazmer is a professor at the School of Information within the College of Communication and Information at Florida State University (FSU).
Presented to Kazmer at the 2014 ASIS&T Annual Meeting, the award recognizes her "sustained and unique contributions to teaching information science." The program from the meeting further elaborates:
In Dr. Kazmer's courses, students learn and have fun at the same time, illustrating the innovative and imaginative teaching environment that inspires her students. She has written extensively on the e-learning space and has won several teaching awards at Florida State University. Through her ASIS&T webinar, "Transforming Our Learning 'Worst Practices' into Excellent Teaching," she has shared her successful and inventive teaching methods with colleagues throughout the profession.
Dr. Kazmer's research focuses on distributed knowledge and explores and theorizes the activities and systems (including technology systems, institutional systems, cultural systems, etc.) associated with distributed knowledge processes. Her work is collaborative and multidisciplinary, and she places a high priority on her work with graduate students. In addition, Dr. Kazmer has an outstanding publication history reflecting both her research and her teaching outcomes.
"My research is really important to me as a scholar, but I am also passionate about teaching and learning from the students whose education and professional preparation are entrusted to me each year," said Kazmer. As a testimony to her teaching abilities, students and colleaugues have nominated her for the FSU Graduate Teaching Award in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2012.
"I'm grateful to the team of doctoral students, led by doctoral candidate Julia Skinner, whose tenacity and hard work in the nomination process led to my receiving the award," said Kazmer. She credits her inspiring teaching environment to the colleagues with whom she has worked through the years. She also is deeply honored to receive the award following last year's recipient, GSLIS Professor Emeritus Carole Palmer. "I’m incredibly touched because last year’s winner was my first teaching mentor in my doctoral program," she recalled. "The list of prior winners includes many people I’ve had the joy of learning from in some way during the past 20 years," she said. "I’m honored to join their ranks."