An ASU biology professor is going outside of the classroom setting to get students interested in science.

The ASU Parents Association chose James Elser, a professor in the School of Life and Science since 1990, as the 2009 Professor of the Year during a ceremony on Thursday. Elser said the news “shocked” him.

He said he thinks teaching large classes for so long and his efforts to find new ways to connect with students, who at times are non-biology majors, in large lecture classes is what earned him the award.

“I try to keep it interesting by convincing students that science is not about memorizing in a boring sort of way,” Elser said. “Science is about discovering and figuring stuff out to use in their lives.”

Over the years, Elser has taught an estimated 12,000 undergraduate students in large classes of almost 800 students per semester.

He said he enjoys teaching because he wants to “make an impact on students and get them to appreciate science.”

School of Life Sciences Professor Andrew Hamilton, who was mentored by Elser when he first arrived on campus three years ago, said Elser’s way of teaching inspired him to effectively deliver his courses.

“He has refined his skills over many years of teaching, and he knows how to inspire further questions, how to make his expectations well known to the students and how to stimulate intellectual curiosity,” Hamilton said. “This is not easy to do in a large class for non-biology majors.”

Every year, Elser also finds new ways to connect science to current issues, Hamilton said.

“Jim has made the course as much about critical reasoning and about current issues in science as it is about introductory biology,” Hamilton said. “This is a great idea because one does not need to have a deep desire to learn the intimate details of meiosis to find something interesting in Jim’s course.”

Elser is also “a first-rate mentor” for graduate students, as well as for new faculty, Hamilton said.

“He is full of great advice that he dispenses in exactly the right way,” Hamilton said.

Aside from teaching, Elser is also the associate director of Research and Training Initiatives in the School of Life and Sciences where he helps acquire grant proposals submitted for student research funding.

Margaret Coulombe, who works with Elser in research proposal and media relations in the Office of Research and Training Initiatives, said Elser is extremely dedicated in working with undergraduates.

As professor of the year, Elser will also receive $20,000. Half the money will go to fund an undergraduate student’s trip to Norway to conduct research on nitrogen cycling, Coulombe said.

She describes Elser as “a humble guy” who does not like being on the spotlight.

“He’s very passionate about teaching undergraduates and putting them hands-on in participating in research,” Coulombe said.

“He is really determined to get science across to them in a level that’s relevant to them and gets them involved in his research,” Coulombe said.

Arianne Cease, a graduate student who has worked with Elser as a teacher’s assistant and in research projects in the past, said he shows “extreme enthusiasm in teaching.”

“To be a good teacher, you have to start out by being extremely passionate about your subject, and he is,” Cease said. “He’s just very enthusiastic and hilarious when he teaches.”

With his teaching, Elser also tries to tell a story and puts it in terms that are relevant to students, Cease said.

“It’s not about spitting out a lot of biological facts to students. He’s more about enabling them to think critically for themselves and understand the process of science,” Cease said.

She said working with Elser has helped her in her graduate studies.

“His passion for outreach has helped me incorporate a lot of different aspects of outreach into my research as a graduate student,” Cease said.
“He has connected me with more opportunities that I would have missed otherwise."

Reach the reporter at griselda.nevarez@asu.edu.