Two St. Bonaventure University professors have been honored by their colleagues with awards of excellence for the 2022-23 academic year. Dr. Pauline Hoffmann, associate professor of communication, was awarded the Professional Excellence in Community Service Award, while Dr. Adam Brown, professor of elementary education, was awarded the university鈥檚 Professional Excellence in Teaching Award.
In the photo: Professional Excellence awards are presented to Dr. Pauline Hoffmann (left) and Dr. Adam Brown by St. Bonaventure University President Dr. Jeff Gingerich.
Two St. Bonaventure University professors have been honored by their colleagues with awards of excellence for the 2022-23 academic year.
Dr. Pauline Hoffmann, associate professor of communication, was awarded the Professional Excellence in Community Service Award, while Dr. Adam Brown, professor of elementary education, was awarded the university鈥檚 Professional Excellence in
Teaching Award.
They were recognized at the university鈥檚 Staff & Faculty Excellence Awards program held Thursday, April 27, in the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts on campus.
Hoffmann was nominated by a number of her colleagues for the Professional Excellence in Community Service Award, including Dr. Denny Wilkins, professor of journalism, who cited Hoffmann鈥檚 long-held commitment to helping others.
鈥淒r. Hoffmann鈥檚 life has been filled with community service at local, regional, and global levels,鈥 Wilkins said. 鈥淪he has a lengthy history of belief in sharing her time and talents in service of others.鈥
Another colleague, Dr. Mary Rose Kubal, associate professor of political science, cited Hoffmann鈥檚 service to the Western New York Faculty Coalition in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic when several regional colleges dismissed tenured faculty without
demonstrating true financial exigency. 鈥淧auline was instrumental in helping us get the word out, designing our webpage and coordinating press releases and a media strategy,鈥 Kubal said.
Impressed with Hoffmann鈥檚 work with the coalition, Kubal recruited her to serve as the first communication director of the New York State Conference of the American Association of University Professors, a volunteer position. 鈥淧auline created
a communication plan for our organization, set up a press release system and coordinated several press releases for us,鈥 Kubal said.
Dr. Robin Maria Valeri, professor of psychology, cited Hoffmann鈥檚 efforts to debunk misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic when she authored or co-authored columns in regional newspapers that addressed misperceptions about the virus.
Hoffmann would go on to start the podcast and associated blog/website Data Doyenne and a newsletter, WTF (What the Facts?), that 鈥渉elp people better understand science and data, learn how to separate fact from fiction, and to communicate more compassionately
and effectively with people who hold opposing views,鈥 Valeri said.
Hoffmann has put her communication skills to work as publicity chair of the Zonta Club of Olean, a chapter of Zonta International, a leading global organization of professionals empowering women through service and advocacy. She designed and created the
club鈥檚 website and started its Instagram account. Through Zonta, she is mentoring a young woman in Germany.
鈥淧auline鈥檚 commitment to our work has been evident since day one,鈥 said Ann Marie Sitter-Tompkins, Zonta Club member and former president. 鈥淪he is impacting not only women in the community where she lives and works, but internationally.鈥
Hoffmann served as dean of St. Bonaventure鈥檚 Jandoli School of Communication from 2012 to 2017 and is a former dean of the university鈥檚 School of Graduate Studies. She is a member of the National Public Health Information Coalition, the international
Society for Infodemic Management, and secretary of the Healthy Community Alliance Board.
She is a founding member of Embrace it Africa, an organization that helps drive sustainable economic growth in the Kyotera District of Uganda, and a founding member of March Into Women鈥檚 History, a group that raises awareness of issues facing women.
Hoffmann formerly served as president of the Buffalo Niagara Chapter of New York State Women, Inc., as a member of the American Association of University Women, and as a long-time member of the International Communication Association.
Hoffmann earned a bachelor鈥檚 degree from St. Bonaventure, with a major in biology and a minor in communication, and a master鈥檚 and Ph.D. in communication from the University at Buffalo. She has been teaching at St. Bonaventure since 2006.
Brown鈥檚 nomination for teaching excellence was advanced by a number of his faculty colleagues and students.
Dr. Ren茅 Hauser, dean of the School of Education, said Brown has 鈥渁 contagious passion for teaching and strives to be the best that he can be,鈥 adding that students consistently give him high marks in course evaluations: 鈥淭he
delivery of the content was intriguing and fun,鈥 wrote one student; 鈥淭hank you for teaching with great passion and skill,鈥 wrote another; 鈥淗e brings so much energy and life into any classroom he teachers and makes you excited
to learn,鈥 added a third.
In the classroom, Brown 鈥渂ases everything he does on research, and not just on what makes him comfortable or what he thinks might work,鈥 Hauser said. He is a founding member and co-director of the Center for Attention, Learning and Memory,
which involves student researchers in its work and has delivered more than 20 presentations to the university community.
Brown has taught more than 30 courses in his tenure at St. Bonaventure, developing syllabi for each one as well as course materials that incorporate research-based practices. 鈥淗e continuously updates his courses to incorporate updated research and
meet the changing needs of the students,鈥 Hauser added.
Dr. Charles Walker, professor emeritus in psychology, called Brown 鈥渁n exemplary teacher,鈥 noting that students seek his guidance with Honors projects and that 鈥渙ften the result of their work is presented at conferences.鈥
Dr. Heather McDivitt, a philosophy lecturer and co-director of the Honors Program, said Brown鈥檚 Honors courses in Human Development and Learning, and Special Topics: Pregnancy are popular with Honors students not because they are easy, but because
they are rigorous.
Brown serves on the Honors Council, helps design Honors classes and course syllabi and advises other faculty on class activities and assessment. 鈥淗is excellence in teaching can be seen in the classroom and in the way he mentors, encourages, and
nurtures students throughout the process of completing their projects. He wants students to work hard and get a lot out of the Honors project process,鈥 McDivitt said.
Natalie Watkowski, a 2022 St. Bonaventure graduate, served as Brown鈥檚 research assistant with St. Bonaventure鈥檚 Consortium for the Study of Pregnancy & Prenatal Development, which Brown co-founded. Watkowski credits the experience with
helping her land her present role as perinatal care coordinator with the Deschutes County (Oregon) Health Department. 鈥淗e has always been supportive of my career ambitions and was one of the catalysts that pushed me into going farther out of
my comfort zone to become my best self,鈥 she said.
Brown earned a bachelor鈥檚 degree with majors in psychology and philosophy from SUNY Fredonia. He received a master鈥檚 in educational psychology and statistics, and a Ph.D. from SUNY Albany. Prior to his arrival at St. Bonaventure in 2000-2001
he taught at the State University of New York College at Buffalo, SUNY Buffalo, SUNY Fredonia and SUNY Albany.
Brown serves the university as a member of the Visiting Scholars Committee, the Tenure and Promotion Committee, the Executive Athletics Compliance Committee, the Individualized Major Program Committee, and committees ensuring university and School of
Education compliance with national accrediting councils and commissions.
Brown is also the co-founder of Science on Tap, a popular program that brings science out of the classroom and into the community with regular science-related presentations at Four Mile Brewing in Olean.
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About the University: The nation鈥檚 first Franciscan university, St. Bonaventure University is a community committed to transforming the lives of our students inside and outside the classroom, inspiring in them a lifelong commitment to service
and citizenship. St. Bonaventure was named the #5 regional university value in the North in U.S. News and World Report鈥檚 2022 college rankings edition.