Deanne Gebell Gitner ’66 and Family Annual Prize for Teaching Assistants

Teaching assistants who have demonstrated their devotion to undergraduate teaching — including classroom presence, course preparation and administration, student counseling, and, where applicable, development of new courses and new methods of student instruction — may be eligible for a Deanne Gebell Gitner ’66 and Family Annual Prize for Teaching Assistants. Up to five $1,000 prizes are awarded each year.

Eligibility

Eligible Title:

Graduate teaching assistants

Criteria:

Recipients shall be persons who have demonstrated their devotion to undergraduate teaching, including classroom presence, course preparation and administration, student counseling and, where applicable, development of new courses and methods of student instruction. Note that there is a preference for one award to be given to a graduate student in the Department of Literatures in English and another in the Department of History.

Available Awards:

Up to five awards of $2,000 each

Nomination Process

Students:

To nominate a teaching assistant, send a letter to the department chair by February 11th, 2023

Chairs and directors of graduate studies:

All nomination packages must be submitted to the dean by either a department chair or a director of graduate studies. 

The 2023 nomination submission deadline is Friday, March 10th, 2023.

Each nomination must include:

  1. Chair’s nomination letter, which should include a brief summary of teaching evaluation data
  2. Candidate’s CV
  3. List of all courses taught
  4. Letters of support from students (maximum of 5)

All materials in the nomination package should be submitted as a single pdf.

The awards for graduate student teaching (the Russell and Gitner) are drawn from the same set of nominations, so you will only need to send a single nomination for your nominee to be considered for both awards.

Click here to submit a nomination package

Questions should be directed to the Arts & Sciences Awards Committee.

About Deanne Gebell Gitner

Deanne Gebell Gitner ’66, a graduate of the College of Arts & Sciences, and dedicated Cornell volunteer.

Deanne began her career as a teacher of junior high and high school English for several years, before becoming a full-time at-home parent. As her children got older, she became a school textbook representative and a journalist, writing and editing for the Millburn-Short Hills Independent Press. Deanne then held the position of Communications Coordinator for the Millburn (New Jersey) Public School System until her retirement.

Deanne’s family includes her husband, Gerry Gitner, the retired chair and CEO of Trans World Airlines; son Daniel Gitner ’92, a lawyer in New York City who has twice been named the White Collar and Government Investigations Lawyer of the Year; and son Seth Gitner, an Associate Professor at the Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, where he teaches multimedia journalism. 

Cornell had a major influence on Deanne, and she gave her time and talents back to the University freely until her passing in 2021.  She was a life member of Cornell University Council, chairing various committees.  Additionally, she served on the Tower Club Committee, Cornell Club of Northern New Jersey, Cornell Club of Eastern Florida and several reunion campaigns for the Class of 1966.  Her son Dan continues her legacy of involvement as a member of the College of Arts and Sciences Advisory Board.  While working as a staff writer for a weekly newspaper, Deanne shared with her Cornell classmates that she was “doing what I think Cornell prepared me for.”

In recognition of Deanne's love for Cornell and her passion for education, her family has generously established the Deanne Gebell Gitner ’66 and Family Annual Prize for Teaching Assistants in the College of Arts & Sciences. This prize will recognize and celebrate up to four graduate teaching assistants in Arts & Sciences, carrying Deanne's legacy forward to future generations of Cornellians.

Recipients

2021-2022

  • Lyrianne Gonzalez, history
  • David Mehrle, mathematics
  • Matthieu Real, classics
  • Prairie Wentworth-Nice, mathematics
  • Vivian (Hanwen) Zhang, psychology

2020-2021

  • Daniela Samur, history
  • Peter Shipman, literatures in English
  • Stephanie Tepper, psychology
  • Katherine Zaslavsky, sociology

2019-2020

  • Caitlyn Finton, psychology
  • Kyle Howard, government
  • Ana Sandu, math
  • Bojan Srbinovski, English
  • Jonathan Warner, classics

2018-2019

  • Becky Lu, English
  • Tyler A. Anderson, physics
  • Maru Sarazole, mathematics

2017-2018

  • Jessica Abel, English
  • David Peck, neurobiology and behavior

2016-2017

  • Nicholas Fletcher, ecology and evolutionary biology
  • Peregrine Gerard-Little, anthropology
  • Kelsey Houston-Edwards, mathematics
  • Jonathan Reinhardt, English

2015-2016

  • William Pennington, government
  • Drew Zemke, mathematics
  • Kristie Schlauraff, English
  • Ben Tam, English

2014-2015

  • Laura Manella, neurobiology & behavior
  • Sarah Maxey, government
  • Danielle Morgan, English
  • Allison Tracy, ecology & evolutionary biology

2013-2014

  • Adhaar Desai, English
  • Nicole Weygandt, government