RWC Spanish Professor Evelyn Brod is one of two UC faculty named as the inaugural winners of the new Faculty Award for Exemplary Contributions in Service to the University of Cincinnati. Many professors here at RWC do more than grade papers and update Blackboard. A select few go above and beyond the call of duty, serving on committees, volunteering their time for the good of the college and the student body, or completing other such exemplary acts of service. Evelyn Brod is one such professor.
Brod is a professor of Spanish and has been with UC for about 35 years. She has been in the UC Faculty Senate for over 20 years and has also been a part of many important initiatives going on at the university.
When asked why she felt she won the award, despite her hefty credentials, Brod explains, “I think part of it is all the work I’ve done, along with all of the years of service and how my colleagues see me.”
This is the first year the Faculty Award for Exemplary Contributions in Service to the University of Cincinnati is being given. The winner is chosen by ballot. Participation in committees, leadership roles, student advising, and mentoring are just a few of the activities that make one a prime nomination for the award. Brod won the award along with Bert Huether, a professor of English at main campus.
Upon hearing she had won the award, Brod says she felt “shocked, overwhelmed, and humbled.” That’s no surprise. Simply receiving a nomination for an award such as this is no small accomplishment.
When her curriculum vitae (a list of her life’s work and accomplishments) were requested of her by one professor, Brod expressed how flattered she was to receive just that one nomination. The professor went on to tell her there were many other UC faculty members who were nominating her.
To be so capable and driven requires a special talent and inspiration. Brod says she’s been surrounded by ideas of accomplishment her entire life. She also laughs as she says, “I find it hard to say no [to a job]. If someone tells me something needs to be done, I just do it.”
This isn’t the first time Brod has won an award for her services to the university. In 1992, she won the A. B. (Dolly) Cohen award for excellence in teaching. Now, with the new service award, Brod is one of a select few who have two such awards under her belt.
With all of these awards to win, countless committees to serve on, and a plethora of peers to share and relieve responsibility from, Brod still feels that contact with students and making their lives better is the most important thing she’s been a part of at UC.
Brod calls another reward for her service the knowledge that she has made a contribution to the university, which is also her alma mater.
“A love of the university has been a part of this,” she says. “It’s my alma mater, and I truly love it. I’m very happy that Faculty Senate has instituted this award. [Faculty service] keeps the university moving forward. A lot of faculty do things behind the scenes, and this may bring some more recognition to that with more faculty being recognized down the line.”
Her goals in the future are no less lofty than her current accomplishments. She is still striving for excellence in teaching and is also hoping to publish a book. Thanks to her commitment of time and energy, she will have little or no problem fulfilling those goals.