Jessie Moore, director of the Center for Engaged Learning and professor of English, was one of two honorees to receive the International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning's Distinguished Service Award.
The International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning has recognized Jessie Moore, director of the Center for Engaged Learning and professor of English, with a prestigious award.
On Oct. 12, Moore was awarded the ISSOTL Distinguished Service Award, which honors recipients for distinguished service to the scholarship of teaching and learning and grants honorees a lifetime ISSOTL membership.
“I’m honored and humbled by the recognition,” Moore said, adding she was initially shocked by the announcement. “I was tweeting from the ISSOTL19 conference Twitter account about another award recipient, so I didn’t initially see my name and picture when they were displayed on the screen. I was completely surprised by the award when my name was announced.”
The ISSOTL is a global organization for faculty, students and staff that supports scholarly work regarding teaching and learning. Each year, the organization selects up to two recipients for the Distinguished Service Award. Moore was recognized alongside Katarina Mårtensson of Lund University in Sweden as the award’s 2019 recipients.
“The scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) is central to my professional identity, and ISSOTL fosters community around SoTL, so I’ve felt privileged to contribute to the Society,” Moore said. “I’m grateful for the opportunities ISSOTL has provided me to learn from and work with amazing SoTL scholars from around the globe, and I look forward to continuing to support the Society’s growth.”
According to a letter from ISSOTL, Moore was selected as one of this year’s recipients because of her devotion and commitment to the organization. Moore served as regional vice president of ISSOTL from 2016 to 2018 and is the longtime chair of the ISSOTL communications committee. In 2013, she co-hosted the ISSOTL conference with Assistant Provost for Teaching and Learning Peter Felten and developed ISSOTL Online 2013, which offered scholars the opportunity to connect virtually before the 2013 conference. Moore also currently serves as the elected secretary of the Conference on College Composition and Communication.
“I’m happy to share that the members of the selection committee were especially effusive about Jessie’s long term and powerful leadership of our organization’s communications strategies,” said ISSOTL Past President Mills Kelly, a professor of history and executive director of the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media at George Mason University. “Without her leadership, we would not have embarked on the transition to our new and exciting web presence and, I think it’s fair to say, that transition would have taken much longer and would have been very difficult. Jessie was an island of calm during what can sometimes seem like complete chaos. Her patience, her resolve, and her insistence on excellence meant that the final result is the wonderful website we have today. Quite honestly, we couldn’t have done it without her.”
Chng Huang Hoon, president-elect of ISSOTL and associate provost at National University of Singapore, had this to say about Moore: “Jessie’s commitment to ISSOTL is clearly evident to anyone who has interacted with her. Her responsiveness and attention to every detail have made other people’s work lighter even as it increased her burden many times over. We salute her collegiality and sense of community, and are privileged to have her on the team.”
Moore’s selection marks the second time in as many years a member of the Elon community has received the ISSOTL Distinguished Service Award. Felten received the honor in 2018.