Charles Young, a University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point associate professor of music, has been named the 1999-2000 Wisconsin Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE).
Professors in 44 states and the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands are being recognized by the Carnegie Foundation and CASE for their extraordinary dedication to teaching, commitment to students and innovative teaching methods.
A composer and saxophonist, Young recently received his fifth consecutive award from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). He was chosen as a Wisconsin Teaching Fellow for the 1997-98 academic year by UW System and last summer he was sponsored by the National Park Service as the first composer-in-residence for Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. In May he and two fellow music faculty members performed a recital of original works in Magdeburg, Germany, with members of the University of Magdeburg music faculty.
Young has received awards for both composition and performance from such organizations as The National Endowment for the Arts and the Aaron Copland Foundation. His original works have been performed and recorded by a variety of musical groups. As a performer, he has appeared with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and served as an assisting musician for Milt Jackson, Maureen McGovern, Lou Rawls and others.
He has made numerous presentations about music education and technology, and served as a technology consultant for numerous music departments in the Midwest. He has served as state chair for music technology for the Wisconsin Music Educators Association and served on boards for the Wisconsin Alliance for Composers and North American Saxophone Alliance. Last year his students nominated him for Who's Who Among America's Teachers.
Young says, "My best teachers are the students that I teach and the mistakes I make."
The coordinator of music theory and of computer music, he came to UW-SP in 1994. He holds degrees from Baylor University and the University of Michigan.
Created by CASE in 1981, the U.S. Professors of the Year program is the only national award program that recognizes college and university professors for their teaching.
The winners were selected from more than 400 faculty members nominated by colleges and universities across the country. Nominees were evaluated in four areas: 1) impact on and involvement with undergraduate students; 2) scholarly approach to teaching and learning; 3) contributions to undergraduate education within the institution, community, and profession; and 4) support from colleagues and students.