Dr. Harvey J. Pine of Andover is the 2014 recipient of the Jack Jensen Award for Excellence in Teaching, Colby-Sawyer College’s highest teaching award. Each year the award is given at commencement to honor a teacher who communicates high expectations and encourages intellectual curiosity within and across disciplines; respects diverse talents and ways of learning and uses variety in instruction; and engages students and inspires them to do their best work. It also recognizes teachers who hold students accountable and encourage both faculty-student contact and cooperation among students.

Professor Pine, who earned a BS at Muhlenberg College and an MS and PhD at Auburn University, joined the Colby-Sawyer faculty in 2008. He teaches courses in climate change and geology at Colby-Sawyer, and his classroom extends from the ocean waters off Martha’s Vineyard to the alpine landscape of the White Mountains.

Animated, enthusiastic, and committed to student learning, he is known for his wealth of knowledge, high expectations, and the heart that he shows in his teaching. “Harvey’s students love him,” wrote one nominator. “He is passionate about what he does.”

Following tradition, the winner of the Jack Jensen award delivers the commencement address. Pine’s speech, delivered on May 10, was entitled “A Lesson from a Cane Rat” and encouraged the graduating class to hold themselves, and their peers, accountable for their actions, to take advantage of opportunities, and to reflect on how Colby-Sawyer’s unique learning environment influenced their education and overall preparation for the future.

“Appreciate the fact that your absence went noticed and that your efforts were rewarded, or that a lack of effort was paired with consequences,” said Professor Pine. “Be happy that rigor was the norm in your classes and that merely showing up from time to time was not acceptable. Appreciate the fact that with this comes understanding and caring for each student and their learning. And know that the outcome of this is a greater acquisition of knowledge and further preparation for life outside of college.”

Pine closed his remarks with a request: “Continue to share with me and the Colby-Sawyer community as you go out into the world. Share your failures so that we can help you find ways to succeed. Share your successes so that we may continue to learn from you. Together, let’s share our experiences in order to continue acquiring knowledge.”