Butler, Holme receive Cassling Family Faculty Awards for outstanding teaching

Two faculty members in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Iowa State University will receive Cassling Family Faculty Awards.

Steve Butler, assistant professor in the Department of Mathematics, and Thomas Holme, professor in the Department of Chemistry, will be recognized at the 2014 Fall Convocation, September 11. Mathematics and Chemistry are academic departments in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Steve Butler

The Cassling Family Faculty Awards recognize and reward outstanding faculty in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The two faculty members will each receive a $5,000 award – one for outstanding teaching performance over an extended period of time at Iowa State (Holme) and one for early achievement in teaching (Butler).

The awards were established by Randal and Lori Cassling of Omaha, Neb., in honor of Randal’s parents, Robert and Rita Lenore Dunn Cassling of Omaha, Neb. Robert Cassling is a 1956 graduate of Iowa State while Rita attended Iowa State and was a Homecoming queen.

Butler receives outstanding student evaluations despite a reputation for giving hard tests. In addition, he has brought a high level of enthusiasm and engagement among mathematics majors through weekly undergraduate teas, an undergraduate newsletter, and other activities. As one of Butler’s peers comments, "In his short time at ISU, Steve has made a tremendous difference in the environment for our undergraduate majors and in the mathematical education of hundreds of students.”

Holme’s nominator calls his teaching “truly legendary,” beginning at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where he established a weekly television show to explain science to the public. Holme has a unique ability to quickly recognize the level of knowledge of his audience (or class) and aim his presentation at their level. He can tell when he is getting through and when he is not. If he is not, he adjusts, presents his message differently, adding his unique brand of humor.

About Liberal Arts and Sciences The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is a world-class learning and research community. Iowa State’s most academically diverse college, LAS educates students to become global citizens, providing rigorous academic programs in the sciences, humanities and social sciences within a supportive personalized learning environment. College faculty design new materials, unravel biological structures, care for the environment, and explore social and behavioral issues. From fundamental research to technology transfer and artistic expression, the college supports people in Iowa and around the world.

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NEWS RELEASE College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Iowa State University

Contacts: Beate Schmittmann, Liberal Arts & Sciences Dean, (515) 294-3220 (schmittb@iastate.edu) Laura Wille, Liberal Arts & Sciences Communications, (515) 294-7742 (lge@iastate.edu)