Hegarty Award Citation for Professor Norah Esty

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, representing the Students, Faculty, and the Alumni Council, selects the outstanding teacher from those nominated by students and faculty members. The recipient stands as a symbol of the entire faculty's commitment to academic excellence. At Convocation 2010, Stonehill College is proud to bestow the Hegarty Award on Professor Norah C. Esty.

Professor Esty's commitment to Stonehill's mission is abundantly clear in the words of those who nominated her. We will let them speak for themselves.

• Professor Esty woke the class up each morning with a bright smile, a can of diet coke, and an enthusiasm and love for math . . . . There is no denying that she is a hard teacher, but she is also one of the best. She took topics I had struggled with and never learned and re-taught them in class in a matter of five minutes, breaking down the material into pieces we could understand.
• She is very good at making difficult math concepts understandable and is not happy until each student is comfortable with the material. She is more than willing to spend time outside of class with students who want more help; she can often be found in the Math Lounge, which she helped to create, assisting several of her students.
• In addition to helping me with Stonehill courses, Professor Esty also helped me prepare for the Mathematics MTEL. She came in on a day when she is not usually on campus to help me study. I passed the MTEL, and I know I have her to thank for that.
• As a future teacher, I feel that Prof. Esty embodies all the qualities of a good teacher that we learned about in education classes-and then some! And her awesome taste in '80s and '90s music and movies doesn't hurt either!
• Professor Norah Esty is the most fantastic professor I have had in my time at Stonehill College. Her vast knowledge is displayed daily in her effortless ability to replicate difficult mathematics in mere seconds. It is not just her brilliance, though, that makes her such an excellent teacher. She also works hard to make sure her students understand what she is teaching. She holds her students to high standards, but does everything to help students exceed them. As students, we are inspired to do better by her diligence and care.

And so with deep pride we today recognize Professor Norah C. Esty for exemplifying Stonehill's commitment to academic excellence.

Given this 31st day of August,

Two thousand and ten.