Four University of Nebraska Medical Center faculty members recently
were selected as UNMCs Outstanding Teachers for 2001. The four teachers
are: Richard MacDonald, Ph.D. and Warren Stinson, Ph.D., both College of
Medicine; Donald Cohen, D.M.D., College of Dentistry in Lincoln; and Eric
Scholar, Ph.D., College of Pharmacy.
Dr. MacDonald, associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biology,
still maintains the same teaching philosophy he had when he started teaching
18 years ago — to foster thinking and the integration of information.
He teaches hundreds of students each year and probably knows each student
by name.
Dr. MacDonald earned his bachelors degree in biology, magna cum laude,
from the University of Connecticut in Storrs in 1975 and went on to receive
his masters degree in biochemistry in 1976 from the same institution.
He earned his doctoral degree in biochemistry at the University of Vermont
in Burlington in 1981 then continued his post-doctoral training at the
Worcester Foundation for Experimental Biology in Shrewsbury, Mass. He then
became an instructor of biochemistry at the University of Massachusetts
Medical Center in Worcester.
He joined UNMC as an assistant professor in 1988 and was named associate
professor in 1994. Dr. MacDonald has received the Outstanding Teacher of
the Year Award in 1993, the Alvin M. Earle Outstanding Health Science Educator
Award in 1998, and the Class of 1962 Basic Science Outstanding Teacher
Award in 1999. Twice, in 1995 and 2000, he was a finalist for the Alvin
M. Earle Award.
Dr. Cohen, director of general pathology for undergraduate, dental and
dental hygiene students and advance oral pathology for graduate students,
wants his students to become good dentists. But, above all else, he wants
them to become great investigators — beyond the drill and fill routine
and care for the whole patient.
Born and raised in New York, Dr. Cohen received his bachelors degree
in biology from City College of New York in 1969. He earned his doctor
of dental medicine degree from Washington University in St. Louis in 1973.
From there, he went to Temple University in Philadelphia where he received
his certification in oral pathology and earned a masters degree in oral
pathology/oral biology.
He joined UNMCs faculty in 1976 as assistant professor, advancing to
associate professor in 1982 and professor in 1999. In 1998, he was appointed
an associate member of the UNMC Eppley Cancer Center. Since 1980, he has
received nine teaching awards from the College of Dentistry.
He earned a masters in business administration with highest distinction
from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1989.
Dr. Scholar, associate professor of pharmacology, the 2000-2001 academic
year has been a banner one. Not once, not twice, but three times he has
been recognized for his outstanding teaching skills.
Earlier this school year, he was named Distinguished Teacher for 2000
by the College of Pharmacy students, and he was presented the Golden Apple
Award for 1999-2000 by the second-year medical students in November. His
philosophy is to present the material in a way students understand and
remember.
Dr. Scholar received his bachelors degree in pharmacy from Rutgers
College of Pharmacy, Newark, N.J., in 1961. He earned his doctoral degree
in pharmacology from the University of Illinois Medical Center, Chicago,
in 1967.
He moved to Providence, R.I., where he completed his post-doctoral work
as a research associate in the Division of Biological and Medical Sciences
at Brown University, after which he served as instructor of biochemical
pharmacology until 1972. He was then made assistant professor in that department,
holding a joint appointment with the department of medicine at Roger Williams
General Hospital until 1975.
He joined UNMCs faculty as assistant professor in 1975 and in 1981
was appointed associate professor. Since 1988, he has held a courtesy appointment
as associate professor in the Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer and
Allied Diseases. In 1995, he was named a member of UNMCs Eppley Cancer
Center.
Dr. Scholar was first recognized for his teaching skills in 1994 when
he was presented the Carl Gessert Award for Dedication in Teaching from
the Department of Pharmacology. Both last year and earlier this year, he
was nominated for the Alvin Earle Award.
Dr. Stinson, associate professor of cell biology and anatomy, estimates
he has taught more than 4,000 medical students since he began teaching
at UNMC in 1970. He was looking forward to a career working as a geologist
after graduating in 1959 from Oklahoma State University in Stillwater with
a bachelors degree in geology. Until geology jobs dried up.
Thats when he joined the Army, serving four years in the artillery.
When he was discharged, he decided to change his field of study to anatomy.
He returned to Oklahoma, earning his masters degree from Oklahoma State
and a doctorate in medical science from the University of Oklahoma Medical
Center in Oklahoma City.
Since 1972, Dr. Stinson has served on the State Anatomical Board, for
which he solicits anatomical gifts for medical study. He is the course
director of anatomy for radiation science, senior selectives in gross anatomy
and anatomy for pharmacists. He also teaches gross anatomy to physician
assistant, physical therapy and first-year medical students.
Dr. Stinson, 65, plans to retire at the end of this school year. He
will continue, however, to teach two gross anatomy laboratories.