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2009 Distinguished Teaching Awards
Andrea Bubula and Geoffrey Jehle each received SIPA’s Distinguished Teaching Award for 2009. The awards are offered in two categories – Professor Bubula won for courses with enrollment of 45 students or more; Professor Jehle for courses with fewer than 45 students. Each was selected by students through an online ballot that featured ten nominees in each category. The nominees were the top performers in the quantitative portion of course evaluations for the spring and fall 2008 semesters.
Andrea Bubula was awarded for his work in teaching the required core course Economic Analysis for International Affairs. Ninety-seven percent of the survey respondents rated Professor Bubula “excellent” or “very good.”
“In addition to being deeply qualified and explaining economics very clearly, he really cares about his students,” says Lucie Klarsfeld (MIA ’09). “He knows everyone's names - even those who never spoke to him or asked a question. And though he still asks students to process an extremely large quantity of information in a relatively short time, he stays aware that it is difficult and always has time to help and listen to students' concerns - not only about his class but also in general.”
Professor Bubula earned his Ph.D. in economics from Columbia University in 2004 and holds a 'Laurea' and 'Dottorato di Ricerca' from Universita' di Roma, La Sapienza. He has worked at the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and was a Fellow of International Affairs at Yale University. Professor Bubula received the Columbia University Presidential Award for Outstanding Teaching in 2008, and the inaugural SIPA Distinguished Teaching Award in 2003.
Geoffrey Jehle was awarded for teaching Microeconomic Policy Management, a core course in the MPA Program in Economic Policy Management (PEPM). Ninety-five percent of survey respondents rated Professor Jehle “excellent” or “very good.”
"Professor Jehle prepares his lectures very well. He controls the rhythm perfectly, advancing questions and doubts,” says Manel Avellà (MPA ’09, PEPM/IEMP). “He is enthusiastic and has fun on the blackboard. Professor Jehle makes the Micro class exciting and keeps students focused throughout every two hour class."
“His lectures set a very high standard in teaching,” says Mizue Oyama (MPA ’09). “He always motivates and encourages his students to actively engage in the thought process and ask many questions. His sense of humorkept the class lively, full of energy and interesting.”
Professor Jehle received his Ph.D. from Princeton University in 1983 and also serves as professor of economics at Vassar College. He has taught at Princeton University, Yale University, the European Institute of Business Administration (INSEAD), Lahore University of Management Science (LUMS) and in 2001, as Fulbright senior scholar at the Universiti Sains Malaysia. Professor Jehle first taught in the PEPM program in 2004. His early work on the theory of bank regulation received the 1986 Iddo Sarnat Award from the European Finance Association and the Journal of Banking and Finance.
The other nominees for courses with 45 students or more were:
- Stephen Cameron for EMPA U8216 "Microeconomics and Policy Analysis II"
- Arthur T. Dong for EMPA "Accounting for Public Affairs"
- Katharine Morgan for "Economics of Finance"
- Ghassan Salame for "International Politics in the Middle East"
- Stephen Sestanovich for "Contemporary Diplomacy"
- Glenn Sheriff for "Micro Econ & Policy Analysis"
- Richard Robb, nominated twice for "International Capital Markets," which he teaches each semester.
- Miguel Urquiola for "Economic Development for International Affairs"
The other nominees for courses with fewer than 45 students were:
- Joanne Baney for EMPA "Communicating in Organizations"
- Alexander Cooley for "Challenging Sovereignty"
- Michael Doyle for "Topics in International Ethics"
- John Hirsch for "Peacemaking/Peacekeeping"
- Geoffrey Jehle for PEPM "Microeconomic Policy Management"
- Stuart Johnson for "Planning U.S. Military Forces"
- Jefrey Pollock for "Campaign Management in the United States"
- Francisco Rivera-Batiz for PEPM "Development Economics"
- Reid Sawyer for "Terrorism & Globalization”
- Gary Sick for "U.S. Foreign Policy-Persian Gulf"
Past winners of the SIPA Distinguished Teaching Award are Katharine Morgan and Michael Ting in 2004; Donald Johnston and Cristian Pop-Eleches in 2005; Lucius Riccio in 2006; Ester Fuchs and Eric Verhoogan in 2007; and Steven Cohen and Elisabeth Lindenmayer in 2008.