Table of Contents

Minnesota Professor of the year

“I have always said that Robin Hasslen is an exemplary professional,” College of Education Dean Joane W. McKay said in response to the news that the 14-year Child and Family Studies faculty member would be
honored by the Carnegie Foundation as Minnesota Professor of the Year. “Robin sets a benchmark for
all of us.”

Hasslen’s students, colleagues, and administrators all agree that she is outstanding, not just because she’s extraordinarily committed to teaching but because she’s so effective at achieving her mission – to give each individual student the gift of knowing they are unique and exciting, full of potential, then to take the next step to tap that potential.

As one of her former students, Erin Dohrmann, stated: “Robin made a constant effort to know not only her students’ academic strengths and needs, but also their personal goals and limitations…Robin is both a model teacher and professional woman.”

The criteria for the U.S. Professors of the Year program, co-sponsored by the Carnegie Foundation and the Counsel for Advancement and Support of Education, are set to honor higher education instructors who display great dedication to teaching, have impact on students, demonstrate a scholarly approach to teaching and learning, contribute to their institutions and their disciplines, and have demonstrated support from colleagues and students. She was honored along with other state awardees at a luncheon Nov. 21 at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

Associate COE Dean Nancy Bacharach concurs. “Robin has always been observed to interact equitably with students and yet demand rigor from them…Students hold her in high respect!”

Former COE Dean Owen Hagen said of Hasslen early in her career, “You are a rare and talented educator and you are clearly making a difference in the field.”

Hasslen, who didn’t earn her master’s degree until she was 40, has a rich background from years of teaching and directing child-care centers to share with her students. She received her Ph.D with an emphasis in curriculum and instruction from the University of Minnesota in 1993.

Awards are not new to this popular professor. She was named professor of the year from Kappa Delta Pi in 1993, the student representative assembly gave her the distinguished teacher award in 1997 and St. Cloud State University presented her with an award for outstanding contribution to minority students in 1996.

Besides having a great impact on their education, Hasslen provides students with an outstanding role model for what she believes is the primary objective of education: “to prepare people to understand their responsibility as citizens of a global society.”

Hasslen is a regular volunteer at the St. Cloud Hospital Emergency Room and with Hospice. She also gives tirelessly of herself as a friend and adviser to students, all part of what former SCSU Academic Vice President Ruth Meyer refers to as Hasslen’s, “ethic of caring.”

Through her much-heralded “Children in a Changing World” class, Hasslen has demonstrated her ability to open students’ minds to the need for understanding of multiculturalism. “She constantly reminds us that we need to develop this awareness of others for a multitude of reasons, not the least of which is the increasing diversity in our schools and child-care settings,” said former student Sharon Markwardt.

“I can’t think of a better representative of St. Cloud State University’s excellence and commitment to students,” SCSU President Roy H. Saigo said of Hasslen’s award. “As a professor, she has opened the minds and broadened the perspectives of thousands of students. As a human being, she has reached out to improve, inspire, and enlighten the lives of countless individuals as a mentor and a friend. We are fortunate to have such a dedicated and enthusiastic educator on our faculty.”

Table of Contents