By Noemi Garcia |Staff Writer|

Professors Dany Doureiri, Brian Janiskee and Cynthia Cotter were named this year’s CSUSB’s professors of the year.

 

 

Dourer, who teaches Arab studies, was awarded the Golden Apple award.

 
The Golden Apple award was initiated in 1986 and is considered to be a prestigious teaching award.

 
It is a tradition that the receiver of the award is surprised during his or her class along with past Golden Apple recipients.

 
When Doueriri initially saw President Dr. Tomas Morales enter his class room he was originally alarmed and even said, “I didn’t do it. My name is Dany, not Osama, guys,” making Morales and the entire class laugh,” according to the CSUSB News.

 
Doueriri has been teaching at CSUSB for more than 15 years.

 
“Thank you so much everybody, thank you so much. You have all been an inspiration in my life. There are much more deserving teachers,” said Doueiri, in a news release published by The Sun.

 

 

Professor Brian Janiskee from the political science department was awarded outstanding professor.

 
Janiskee has been a classroom instructor since 1991 and he has taught in different locations throughout the United States.

 
“I taught my first classes as a graduate assistant in the Political Science Department at Michigan State University. I then took an adjunct instructor position at James Madison College at Michigan State University. I then taught for two years at Central Connecticut State University, before coming to CSUSB in 1998,” stated Janiskee.

 
Janiskee’s passion for teaching has always been present and he would not have it any other way.
He also enjoys research because he never knows where it will take him and what he will discover.
For Janiskee, a successful classroom is about having structure and humor.

 
“I like to work humor into my teaching presentations. With that said, I have high expectations of my students. They are expected to work hard, show up on time, come to class prepared and complete their assignments on time. So, my hope is that when the quarter is over, they know that they had to work very hard in my class, but they also had fun along the way,” stated Janiskee.

 
Janiskee has made such an impact on his students that some of his former students ask for his advice today.

 
“Some students even reach out—sometimes long after they have graduated—and ask for additional reading on a subject they studied in one of my classes. In my opinion, those are some of the best moments a professor can have,” added Janiskee.

 

 

Professor Cynthia Cotter from the English department was awarded outstanding lecturer.
Cotter has been teaching for over 25 years and realized she had the calling to be a professor since she was a little girl.

 
“As a little girl, long before I went to school, I wrote stories. It was a bit frustrating as I did not know how to spell many words at all. I wrote the words I knew and did small pictures of those I didn’t know, rather like hieroglyphics!” stated Cotter.

 
Cotter briefly taught second grade.

 
Cotter loved the “bad kids” but disliked disciplining them so being a college professor has given her another reason to prefer teaching at the college level.

 
“One of the thousands of reasons I like teaching at the university is because I don’t have to discipline my students if their desks aren’t clean,” stated Cotter.

 
Just like Janiskee, Cotter does not picture herself doing anything else but teaching.

 
“Meeting unique, diverse people and learning about their lives and developing together a love of words,” stated Cotter when asked what her favorite part about teaching was.

 
Some students, according to Cotter, have a different view about a class on the first day as opposed to the last day.

 
“I hope at least a few people realize by the last day that the class did give them some greater insight and that it was more enjoyable than they thought it was going to be. I hope they want to keep learning about the subject rather than feeling glad it’s over,” concluded Cotter.

 
Professors were awarded on March 2.