Calvin names top teacher

Calvin College professor of Asian Studies Larry Herzberg is the recipient of the school's 2011 Presidential Award for Exemplary Teaching (PAET): the highest honor that Calvin College bestows on a faculty member. The announcement was made at the Faculty Awards dinner on Thursday, February 10, 2011.

A native of Chicago, Herzberg grew up with a passion for music, and it wasn't long before he was an accomplished violinist. He was concertmaster of his high school, assistant concertmaster of the Nashville Symphony and also worked as a session musician in Nashville, providing violin backing for Elvis Presley, Dolly Parton, Kenny Rogers and others.

When Herzberg was in his 20's he found another passion: the Chinese language and he spent four years at Indiana University, getting his masters and PhD in Chinese. Upon graduation, he created an Asian Studies program at Albion from scratch. Four years later, he came to Calvin to do the same.

In his nearly three decades at Calvin, Herzberg has laid a foundation unparalleled in Christian higher education. Under his leadership, Calvin is the only Christian college that offers four continuous years of both Chinese and Japanese language studies. And in 2009, Calvin established the Korean language program.

Daniel Bays, the director of Calvin's Hubers Asian Studies Program credits Herzberg for the growth of Asian language study at Calvin. "When I first came here in 2000, I met Larry and thought to myself, 'I can't believe this guy can teach both introductory Chinese and Japanese and be any good at it,'" Bays said.

Bays noted that Calvin students were re-enrolling in Asian language classes, scoring well on standardized tests and getting into prestigious foreign--anguage programs. And then they returned to China and Japan to work in foreign-owned enterprises and serve as foreign-service officers and teachers.

"While many of my former professors willingly assisted me outside of the classroom, Professor Herzberg, regardless of the nature of the conversation, repeatedly went the extra mile to teach, mentor and encourage me," wrote Eric Bratt '09, a 2009-2010 Fulbright Scholar currently studying Mandarin in China.

"Professor Herzberg possesses a special ability to make foreign languages come alive for students and in doing so, makes the language not only easier to learn, but also more fulfilling," wrote Dustin James Brewer '03, who currently serves as Japanese Government Ministry of Education Scholar.

Herzberg says his teaching success is all about motivation:

"If you love what you do, you'll never work another day in your life."

Calvin's Presidential Award for Exemplary Teaching includes a medallion and a significant financial stipend supported by the George B. and Margaret K. Tinholt Endowment fund. The fund was established in 1993 to honor George Tinholt, a former member of the Calvin Board of Trustees, and his wife, Margaret.

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Received on Fri Feb 11 11:00:15 2011