Assistant Professor of Political Science & International Studies Robert Rodgers Receives 2023 Louise F. Hegarty Award for Excellence in Teaching

Note: During Academic Convocation, Vice President for Academic Affairs Peter Ubertaccio read the following citation bestowing the Louise F. Hegarty Award for Excellence in Teaching upon Assistant Professor of Political Science & International Studies Robert Rodgers.

The Louise F. Hegarty Award for Excellence in Teaching is given each year to a full-time faculty member whose teaching has had a marked influence on the lives of Stonehill students. The Committee on Excellence in Teaching selects the outstanding professor from those nominated by students and faculty members. The award is named in honor of one of Stonehill’s most accomplished teachers and the recipient stands as a symbol of the entire faculty’s commitment to teaching and academic excellence. At this 2023 Academic Convocation, Stonehill College is proud to bestow the Louise F. Hegarty Award for Excellence in Teaching on Professor Robert Rodgers, Assistant Professor of Political Science & International Studies. 

Professor Rodgers’ commitment to teaching excellence, mentoring, and student success is obvious in these words of students and faculty who nominated him for this recognition.  

"It is Professor Rodgers’ desire to learn and pass knowledge on to his students that makes me continue to take his classes. He encourages active participation and goes above and beyond to give a certain approach to course material that makes the new information digestible but also analytical." 

"Professor Rodgers is always willing to provide extra help for students, whether during office hours or after class. He is always willing to discuss class content, after-college plans, as well as be a support system for his students. He has helped me explore the discipline of Political Science, while also being a caring, attentive professor and mentor." 

"Professor Rodgers loves student feedback, whether it’s in the form of class participation, or ideas about the direction of the class. He is very open to all types of feedback, even critical feedback. He wants us to be here and be excited to learn, so he wants our feedback for what works, what doesn't work, and anything that could be improved upon."

"Constitutional Law & Politics was one of my favorite courses at Stonehill because Professor Rodgers taught it like a constitutional law class for first-year law school students. This can be very difficult for students if they're not ready for this kind of workload because it WAS difficult! We took much more time than originally planned to discuss case material and go over readings so that by the end of the year, we had gotten much less done than what we wanted to in terms of the syllabus content. In response to this, Professor Rodgers worked with the entire class to see what the class was most curious about and most willing to take out of the syllabus. After one class, we had reworked the syllabus to accommodate the cases and topics and assignments that we wanted to do while still achieving the academic goals that Professor Rodgers had set for us. This sounds like something any other professor would do but it was different because Professor Rodgers saw several students struggling with this rigorous syllabus and checked in with all of us. After listening to our learning concerns, he helped us overcome these challenges by working with us to rework the syllabus so that we would have a condensed yet still challenging course."  

And so, it is with profound pride that today, Stonehill recognizes Professor Robert Rodgers for his outstanding teaching in service to our students.