Molly Anderson honored for excellence in teaching

Each year Baker University honors exemplary faculty with the Jennie Howell Kopke and Verda R. Kopke Award for Distinguished Teaching. Molly Anderson, assistant professor of laboratory instruction, has been named the 2021 recipient.

The award annually recognizes a Baker faculty member who has a record of excellence in teaching and in transforming students into scholars, who brings honor to the university, and who exhibits good moral character. Recipients of the Kopke Award also receive a $5,000 cash award.

“I have always enjoyed the part of graduation where we get to recognize our colleagues, and I certainly have looked up to those prior recipients. I am overwhelmed and honored for the recognition, especially considering the pandemic climate of the last 18 months,” said Anderson, who graduated from Baker in 1999 with majors in chemistry and biology and a minor in German. “It should be noted that good teachers are lifted by great environments and great examples. I have had some amazing teachers in my life, and many of them are from my time at Baker.”

Anderson, who holds a Master of Science in Biotechnology with an emphasis in bioterrorism and infectious disease from Johns Hopkins University, began teaching at Baker in 2011. She teaches Basic Chemistry, General Chemistry I and II Labs, Principles of Epidemiology and has taught in the Quest program (now Baker Core).

“The thing I enjoy the most about being at Baker and our students is that I get the chance to help people move from where they are to where they want to be. For me personally, I can’t think of a greater calling than being asked to walk alongside someone as they go through a journey, and I think that is what teaching at Baker allows me to do,” Anderson said. “Also, I often get to do that job with like-minded colleagues. It is an excellent environment for growth, support, and learning.”

Anderson’s teaching philosophy is built on mentoring and providing support to students in a constructive and positive way, and the ASTRA Program, a new initiative at Baker, provides her a means to pass this philosophy on to the next generation of teachers. She was part of a team of faculty members who developed a proposal for a $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation to create the ASTRA program and Noyce Scholars program to recruit and prepare future secondary math, biology, and chemistry teachers in high-need school districts.

“The ASTRA program is going to be a new way to better equip our students who want to teach STEM subjects at a secondary level. It has a heavy focus on mentoring and growth by pairing our Baker students with teachers currently in the field and providing extra resources for growth and development,” she said. “The long-term effect of supporting our newly graduated teachers with this program will impact our communities and their students in a positive way.”

The Kopke award was established in 1998 by Charles Kopke, a longtime supporter of Baker. It is named in honor of his mother, Jennie Howell Kopke, a 1921 Baker graduate, and his wife, Verda.