Howard Gunston Wins Stony Brook University Outstanding Lecturer Award

Howard Gunston, known for his energy and commitment to students, is this year's winner of the university's Outstanding Lecturer Award.

Gunston has been a lecturer in the Department of Writing and Rhetoric (DWR) in the Stony Brook University College of Arts and Sciences since 2022. In that time, he has turned hundreds of students into writers by teaching the university's required and elective writing courses, helped to update the university's high-enrollment writing courses so they could be offered in a hybrid modality, and integrated generative AI into writing classes to help students learn to use the tools to supplement but not replace their learning.

"Outstanding educators help students develop the skills and confidence they need to succeed both during their time at the university and beyond," said Eric Lamberg, interim vice provost for faculty development. "Through his commitment to teaching excellence, student engagement and curricular innovation, Howard Gunston has made significant contributions to the educational experience at Stony Brook. We are proud to recognize him with this well-deserved honor."

Gunston is known for greeting his classes each day by saying, "Hello, writers," a greeting, according to Peter Khost, associate professor and department chair, that helps his students see themselves as writers instead of college students in a writing course. He taught a freshman writing class through a semester-long guided research project on career development, guiding students to explore possible careers through prompts, readings and activities that incorporated library resources, generative AI, and critical reading and thinking skills.

Since his appointment in the DWR, Gunston has updated several courses, including a technical writing class taught in collaboration with the Department of Computer Science in the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and a variety of senior-level writing courses. Two of the updated courses are now certified to meet several requirements of the Stony Brook Curriculum, the university's general education program; the designations help students to meet graduation requirements and earn their degrees on time.

"Howie's commitment to teaching excellence is evident in every student interaction I have witnessed. He is almost always with students when walking between classes, talking to them about course material or the world at large," said Patricia Medved, DWR undergraduate program director and senior lecturer in the department. "He has taught several sections of our mainstay WRT 102 each semester with consistent success, modifying the course and experimenting with different approaches to maximize engagement and to address the students' growing reliance on AI-generated writing. He is a dedicated educator whose positive influence on our students, our department and our campus community is immeasurable."

Gunston regularly volunteers to support department and college events, including serving as a candidate marshal every year at University Commencement, chaperoning activities at New Seawolf Welcome Week, participating in Stony Brook Accepted Seawolf Days, and organizing events, including a tabletop, puzzle-based escape room, to raise awareness of the bachelor's degree in rhetoric and writing.

He has participated in several teaching and pedagogical programs with the university's Center for Inclusive Education and earned microcredentials from SUNY and the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching for effective online course design and universal learning design. In collaboration with CELT, he finished updating all of his teaching materials to comply with Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act well in advance of the federal deadline. He also supports his colleagues by mentoring junior faculty in the department.