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May 20, 2009

Trinity University Sociology Professor Wins Teaching Fellowship

SAN ANTONIO – Michael C. Kearl, professor of sociology and anthropology at Trinity University, has been named the 2009 recipient of the Dr. and Mrs. Z.T. Scott Faculty Fellowship in recognition of his outstanding abilities as a teacher and adviser.

The Z.T. Scott Fellowship, given annually for excellence in teaching and advising, includes a cash award as well as funds to be used for professional development and research. Trinity University Trustee Richard M. Kleberg III established the Fellowship in 1984 in honor of his grandparents, Dr. and Mrs. Z.T. Scott. The award was announced May 16 during Trinity’s undergraduate commencement.

Professor Kearl came to Trinity in 1977 and was chair of the sociology and anthropology department from 2001 to 2006. He is a nationally recognized expert on the topics of death and dying and the concepts of time, family, and social gerontology. His award-winning Web site, A Sociological Tour Through Cyberspace, has been accessed by more than a million visitors from 100 or more countries.

Students and fellow professors hail his passion for teaching and his dedication to helping students figure out which courses to take as well as which careers to pursue. Professor Kearl says the discipline of sociology appears on the surface to be the analysis of social life that is taken for granted. “But,” he notes, “the study of everyday behavior turns out to be anything but simple, and the instilling of appreciation for its complexity is what I do for a living.”

A former student, Courtney D.E. Smith ’03, called Professor Kearl one of “the University’s gems.” After taking his course on Marriage and Family Roles, Ms. Smith chose to spend the year after graduating living with her great-grandmother to document the family history, an unconventional path that Professor Kearl supported. Although Ms. Smith went to graduate school at Columbia University, she couldn’t forget “that rare breakthrough moment” of “seeing things in a new and enlightening way” in one of Professor Kearl’s classes. She said the lessons he taught “helped prepare me for a thoughtful life, something for which I am immensely grateful to him and to Trinity University.”

He earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Dartmouth College and holds a doctorate in sociology from Stanford University.

Trinity University, founded in 1869, is one of the nation’s top private undergraduate institutions. Noted for its superior academic quality, outstanding faculty, and exceptional academic and residential resources, Trinity is committed to the intellectual, civic, and professional preparation of its students.

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