This isn't Mead, McIntyre & Ramsay, but it is some of their students making those final presentations and clearly having "too much fun."  Art Mead received the 2005 Teaching Excellence Award this fall, making him the third economics department faculty member in 29 years to win the prestigious honor.

         “Teaching is one of those things where you don’t have a lot of rewards, and a lot of what you do doesn’t show up for years,” Mead said. “So to have students identify me and recognize me as excellent, it is a sense of great satisfaction.”

         Before coming to URI in 1976, Mead was a graduate assistant at Boston College, and taught one year at Simmons College. “This will be my 30th year here,” he said. “It’s an amazing number.”

         Mead, who had been a finalist numerous times prior to this school year, described his students’ reaction when President Robert L. Carothers came to his class and announced that he had won the award, which includes a citation and a $1,000 check. “One of my students made the comment, ‘That’s not that much.’ Another asked what they would get out of it,” he said with a laugh.  It turns out he he used the stipend that went with the award to open the account for the Dirlam Award, so please check it out - and maybe even consider helping out with a donation.

         Besides his introduction classes with up to 350 students and a research methods class, Mead also teaches in the Honors Program. He is currently developing a “Made in China” class for the program, as well as writing a chapter for a book on China.

         Mead said he is glad he has been able to make a difference in the lives of his students. “You’ve got to look at it as, ‘you must have done something right,’” he said. “It’s like a thank you, and everyone likes a thank you.”

         The previous winners in the economics department are professors Richard McIntyre and Glenworth Ramsay.

         Ramsay, who received the Teaching Excellence Award in 1976, had only been teaching at URI for three years prior to winning. “I have to admit when I got the award, I didn’t know much about teaching,” he said. “It was more instinctual.”

         In addition to the introduction classes, Ramsay has taught research methods, microeconomics and a class on industrial organization. He also worked in the administration for the president’s office in the 1980s for six years.

         Ramsay described the way he felt when notified he would be receiving the award. “I was shocked, thrilled and frightened because I thought I’d have to give a speech at graduation,” he said. “But I didn’t.”

         He also talked about his philosophy on teaching. “One of the most important parts of teaching is having a healthy respect for students,” Ramsay said. “And I’ve always had that.”

         McIntyre, the 1997 Teaching Excellence Award winner, taught at Springfield College before officially starting as an economics professor at URI in 1987. He is a URI alumnus from the class of 1979 and even had Ramsay for a professor.

         McIntyre has taught international economics and a Marx in economics class. “I also regularly teach labor in economics, introduction to economics, and also international finance,” he said.

         When Carothers informed him of the honor, McIntyre said he was thrilled. “It’s a part of your identity,” he said. “It’s nice to be recognized by your students and peers. I feel very good about it.”