The highest UCLA award given to recognize exemplary and inspirational teaching, the Harriet and Charles Luckman Distinguished Teaching Award, goes this year to five faculty members whose outstanding teaching skills in a broad range of disciplines have drawn praise from students and colleagues.

This year’s winners are Utpal Banerjee, assistant professor of molecular, cell and developmental biology; Kris Gutierrez, associate professor of education; Susan McClary, professor and chair of musicology; Arnold Scheibel, professor of neurobiology and psychiatry; and Ivan Szelenyi, professor of sociology. They were nominated by their departments and schools and then chosen by a committee of former faculty award winners, an alumni representative and two students.

The UCLA Alumni Association, which jointly administers the awards with the Academic Senate, also announced recipients of the 1997 Alumni Association Awards. Alumnus of the Year is R. Bruce Merrifield, ‘43, Ph.D. ‘49, winner of the Nobel Prize in chemistry and a professor emeritus of Rockefeller University. For community service, the awardee is Diane Donoghue ‘54.

Honored as Outstanding Seniors are Philip Carter, Victor Moreno and Annette Salmeen. Outstanding Graduate Student is Stephen Haydon. Honored for professional achievement are Audrey B. Collins ‘77; Michael Medavoy ‘63 and Judy Rosener ‘51. For public service, the Alumni Association is honoring Howard Berman ‘62, LLB ‘65 and for university service, Mitchel D. And Susan G. Covel.

Among the Luckman winners is Arnold Scheibel, who teaches multi- level courses on the human brain, from a general-education course to graduate-level neuroanatomy to one-on-one interaction with psychiatric residents. "It’s all above the neck," he said playfully. "But it’s a broad spectrum."

"When I first heard about winning the award, I thought they must have made a mistake," Scheibel said. "Over the years, I’ve come to love students, and I realize more and more what a privilege it is to teach at UCLA."

Banerjee, who teaches a introductory genetics course to 300-400 students, said he felt humbled by the honor. "I’m really thankful to my students. Unlike any other award, where teaching and research are mixed in, this one is clearly about what you do for students. So I really value it a lot."

As does Susan McClary, chair of musicology and past winner of the MacArthur Fellowship. "I am most flattered because it come from my students," she said. "It’s an enormous honor to be acknowledged by my colleagues, but the fact that my students put so much work into this and responded so affectionately is what makes this so special."

To Szelenyi, the award also holds special meaning. After he spent three rigorous years as chair of the sociology department, he returned to campus from a sabbatical year with anxieties about going back into the classroom after being an administrator. "But I found I had a lot of fun when I got back to the classroom. I enjoyed teaching again, and I could only hope my students felt the same about my teaching."

Quite obviously, they did.