Students praise ISE professor through numerous awards
Published: May 16, 2022 2:15 PM
By Carla Nelson
Richard Sesek, the Tim Cook Associate Professor in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, was recently recognized with several awards for his dedication to teaching and commitment to students.
Sesek was recently awarded the William F. Walker Teaching Merit Award from the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering and the Outstanding Graduate Mentor Award from the Auburn University Graduate Student Council.
William F. Walker Teaching Award
The merit award is presented to faculty who exemplify excellence in teaching and hold a deep commitment to education.
Murray Gibson, a doctoral student in industrial and systems engineering, is one of several students who nominated Sesek for the award. The two met at a conference in 2012 and Gibson said that Sesek has since been an inspiration for him to continue learning and growing professionally. He credits Sesek for encouraging him to pursue a doctorate.
“If an artist is to be judged by their work, it might be said that a faculty member can be judged by their students,” Gibson wrote in his nomination letter. “Many of Dr. Sesek’s students would best be described as underdogs. These students often did not fit into the mold of what would be expected for the archetypical Ph.D. student. I include myself in this group of underdogs. I suspect that having a full-time job, a family and being out of school for over a quarter of a century made me a longshot to be a successful Ph.D. student. Despite these challenges, with Dr. Sesek’s support and motivation, I not only survived but maintained a 4.0 GPA.”
Neil Hudson, an undergraduate student studying industrial and systems engineering, wrote in his nomination letter that he wishes he had more professors like Sesek.
“His classes are fun and engaging and I feel like I learn the material better because he gives so many good examples and uses a lot of demonstrations to really show how things work,” Hudson wrote. “Dr. Sesek treats every student like a straight-A student. He doesn’t play favorites and always seems to find what his students are best at.”
John Evans, the Charles D. Miller Chair of the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, also supported Sesek’s nomination. He wrote that Sesek has a passion for educating students, which is obvious to the students.
“When he holds after-class meetings, students attend,” Evans wrote. “When he goes to the gym, students follow. When he has research projects needing students, they volunteer. While the pandemic has significantly impacted face-to-face interactions, Dr. Sesek remains actively engaged with students. He stays, usually an hour or more, after Zoom classes to make sure that students understand the material and are able to apply it. Nobody is more dedicated to their students than Rich.”
Outstanding Graduate Mentor Award
Only seven Auburn University faculty members were chosen as Outstanding Graduate Mentors in 2022. The winners were recognized for going above and beyond their duty as teachers, advisors and mentors.
A committee of graduate students reviewed the nominations and selected the winners based on the strength of the nominees’ letters of support.
Victoria Ballard, a doctoral student in industrial and systems engineering, coordinated the nominations for Sesek.
“Reaching out to fellow graduate students for support with this nomination resulted in such a flood of enthusiasm that I had to select the top five most representative recommendations to include in this nomination,” Ballard wrote. “I would not be at Auburn today if Dr. Sesek did not love Auburn himself. I am thankful for his passion for mentoring and skill in education and look forward to working with him as my doctoral program progresses. The Outstanding Graduate Mentor Award could not go to a better candidate than Dr. Richard Sesek – a champion for the underserved and underdog graduate student and professor with the biggest heart I know!”
Doctoral student Shiva Nageswaran also supported the nomination. He said he took Sesek’s class as a last resort after arriving late in the fall of 2016 to pursue a master’s degree in industrial and systems engineering.
“This decision changed my life forever,” Nageswaran said. “Never in my life have I come across a professor more passionate about their subject and who genuinely wants everyone to understand the material. Almost everyone I know has taken as many courses as they can from Dr. Sesek and has benefitted from his coaching. I cannot think of any other professor who deserves this award more than him.”
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Richard Sesek, the Tim Cook Associate Professor in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, was recently awarded the William F. Walker Teaching Merit Award from the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering and the Outstanding Graduate Mentor Award from the Auburn University Graduate Student Council.
