Soltau receives Carson-Newman 2019 Teaching Excellence Award

^{Carson-Newman’s Dr. Noah Soltau, center, is congratulated by Dr. Jeremy Buckner, acting provost and vice president for Academic Affairs, left, and University President Charles A. Fowler, upon receiving the institution’s Teaching Excellence and Leadership Award presented during Fall Convocation on Thursday.}

(Sept. 5, 2019) JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. — Carson-Newman University named Dr. Noah Soltau as its 2019 Teaching Excellence and Leadership Award recipient. The announcement came during the University’s Fall Convocation.

“As a teacher, advisor and mentor, Dr. Soltau has developed a well-earned reputation as a professor who cares about his students learning the material and doing their best work,” wrote Dr. Shawn O’Hare, dean of the School of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, in his nomination letter. “He inspires his students to achieve excellence; he is a patient and dedicated instructor who understands that many students are intimidated by learning a new language, and he is able to encourage and engage them.”

Soltau joined C-N’s faculty in 2014. The assistant professor of linguistics and German is the director of the University’s linguistics program and event director of the C-N Research, Creativity and Performance Day. He frequently presents at academic conferences and publishes in scholarly books and journals. Soltau has also grown the East Tennessee Dialects Project by organizing the linguistics program around a core of service learning projects.

In a letter of recommendation for the award, Dr. John McClellan, associate professor of philosophy, wrote, “Dr. Soltau stands out as a professor determined to ensure that students genuinely develop their cognitive abilities. He has become the colleague I turn to the most for suggestions/feedback (…), as he is full of great ideas to help me devise ways to push my students more developmental forms of learning.”

Presented to non-tenured faculty members since 1990, the honor is awarded to creative and effective professors who foster learning. Considered an indicator of future promise, the honor recognizes exceptional ability and positive student feedback. Beyond receiving a plaque and a monetary award, the recipient’s name is affixed to a permanent Fite Administration Building display.