Pitt educator named Professor of the Year

David Bartholomae surprised friends and colleagues at Rutgers University in 1975 when he bypassed a chance to become a Victorian literature specialist at Boston University and chose to teach freshman composition at the University of Pittsburgh.

Bartholomae, 66, of Squirrel Hill, has no regrets.

He still teaches the freshman writing course required of all Pitt students and in November was singled out of thousands of professors at 260 Pennsylvania colleges and universities as Pennsylvania Professor of the Year by the Council for the Advancement of Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

For four decades, the soft-spoken professor who rides a bicycle to work when the weather cooperates has watched Pitt grow from a regional school to a national university.

He chaired Pitt's English department for 14 years, edited a book series, helped shape one of the nation's first programs for writing in specific disciplines, coached journalists and taught in Spain as a Fulbright Lecturer. He has written extensively about teaching.

Although many full professors consider freshman composition mundane, it remains Bartholomae's first love.

“I am constantly energized by trying to figure out what's going on with these kids. It's interesting. They're interesting and their encounters with writing are interesting,” Bartholomae said.

Typically, he assigns challenging reading assignments and asks students to use them as the focus for weekly essays. In January, he'll take a different approach. Students will select a work of art from the Carnegie International exhibit of global contemporary art and focus on the work and criticism of it as they sharpen writing skills.

Joseph Harris, who taught at Pitt from 1988-99 and directs the writing program at the University of Delaware, considers Bartholomae a role model.

“He was one of the reasons I wanted to join the faculty at Pitt. He not only respects the intelligence of scholars and colleagues, but also undergraduates,” said Harris, who teaches undergraduate composition.

Addie Eichman, 30, of Friendship took Bartholomae's freshman composition course in 2001.

“It definitely was a formidable experience. He had us read books out of our comfort zone,” she said, adding that writing for Bartholomae helped prepare her for work as a pediatrician, where effective communication is critical and writing is “part of my everyday life.”

Corey Black, 24, a first-year student in Pitt's dental school, met Bartholomae as an undergrad in 2011 when Bartholomae, his wife Joyce, and other Pitt faculty members accompanied students on a semester-long international program in South Africa, Argentina and China.

The program focused on public health and AIDS treatments. Bartholomae, who lived in college dorms with the group, taught an advanced writing course.

“English to me was never anything I took too seriously. But, believe me, that changed when Dave was my English teacher,” Black said. “He was a mentor. He showed us how to document our experiences through writing.”

Debra Erdley is a Trib Total Media staff writer. Reach her at 412-320-7996 or derdley@tribweb.com.